Not My Health, Not My Problem: Sculptural artists Book

UMass Dartmouth BFA in Graphic Design Program | 2014

This artist’s book pairs a scientific research study with personal accounts of the social, emotional, and economic impacts of large scale, industrial wind turbines in a residential area. While my childhood neighborhood struggled with the new realities of adjusting to the pulsing sound, flickering light, and sonic vibrations of industrial turbines closer to their homes than any turbines of this size in the world, my heart broke to see and hear the divisiveness between neighborhoods over the issue. As local politics ran wild, it became a polarizing topic, as those who lived farther from the turbines refused to believe or even listen to those suffering. These people were my neighbors. They were suffering, and they felt like they had no voice. This book was my way of shining a light on their underrepresented struggles.

The structure of this book explores the relationship between inside versus outside through a physical structure that hides and reveals information as the viewer physically interacts with the book. From above, opening the book cover to cover reveals a pattern of pages that mimic the pattern of the turbine’s blades.

There are sections towards the center of the spine that can only be seen when you look for them. These hidden sections reveal images of the emotional and physical struggles reported by the residents of the neighborhood, and quotes taken directly from a local documentary discussing the issue. Just like the way that it is easy to ignore someone else’s problem, these images and quotes — the most vulnerable and raw content of the entire project — are only visible upon a closer look. The exterior spreads document the scientific study and my own personal reflection on the issue.

“Not My Health, Not My Problem” is a single-edition artist’s book.
The construction is a modified French fold; the pages were cut, folded, and constructed by hand.
The pages were typeset in Avenir Book, Avenir Bold, and hand drawn text.
The text and illustration pages were printed with an inkjet printer on white copy paper;
the gray interior was constructed from Recollections textured gray card stock, cut from 12” square sheets.
The Illustrations were drawn by the artist with charcoal and graphite.