Le territoire des mauvaises herbes cover by Guylaine Couture
Le territoire des mauvaises herbes
by Guylaine Couture
Le territoire des mauvaises herbes (The Territory of Weeds) is a book about the force of nature that always takes over. Humans often try to control their environment and have used concrete, asphalt and cement for low extended maintenance. What’s going on with the weather? Vegetation eventually finds its way, often in unusual places.
This force of nature has always impressed me. I walk a lot in the city and I have respect for that bit of green trying to see the sun in a crack. The miracle? It returns, year after year. When cut, it always comes back, stronger.
My book tells a little journey with six engravings. It is actually printed collages. I first prepared textures on different papers with various printing techniques. After that, I made my collages, and I added manual printing at the very end.
from Le territoire des mauvaises herbes by Guylaine Couture (collage, etching, handprint)
I made two editions of this book. Obviously, they are not exact copies, but both follow the same composition and are made from the same paper.
The cover is a book that I reversed, putting the inside to the outside, a bit like looking under the concrete. On the front through the sad cement plates, we discover a little piece of life.
Each print bears witness to the recovery of territory by what we call too easily “weeds”. The steps are presented with a short introduction.
About the author: Guylaine Couture is a graphic designer and a book artist in Montreal, who shares her discoveries on her blog. Her work has been exhibited in Canada, the United States, Europe, and Australia and is in institutional collections in Canada, the United States and Switzerland.
ABOUT THE BOOK Le territoire des mauvaises herbes by Guylaine Couture hand-made artist book 11.4″x9″x1.6″ illustrated edition of 2 $700 CAD Guylaine Couture, Montreal, Quebec, 2016
