Arctic Hare Press
Arctic Hare Press
Ailihphilia/Aibohphobia – a love of palindromes / a fear of palindromes
This book measures 75mm square when closed and has 12 pages each measuring 140mm square when opened. The binding style is known as the Dragon book; here each page is folded three ways giving a sculptural quality to the finished work. The pages are printed on both sides so the book can be read in a circular manner. You can start from either end and there is no right side up.
Each page has a different palindromic sentence printed several times in varying patterns. Each letter follows its correct sequence in the sentence but sometimes these sequences take unexpected routes and it is not always immediately clear as to where the eye should go next.
I chose this particular book structure as before the pages can be read they have to be unfolded or unwrapped which underlies the content, which in a sense also has to be unwrapped before the book can be understood. It is also a nod to the patterns and rules of language, which run through all communication.
However, it is also a lighthearted, playful curiosity and I hope visually intriguing too.