On Tour in Sussex until December 22nd 2000

The Book of Sussex Revelations is a large handmade book with 29 pages (measuring 34.5cm x 50.8cm), a collaboration between writer John May and visual artist Peter Messer. The book was bound by Rachel Ward-Sale, with text pages silk-screen printed by Ian Brown and art direction, design and typesetting by Andy Gammon.

It was commissioned by the Sussex Literature Development Network as the core element of its Millennium Festival project, Revelations, with funding from the National Lottery through the Arts Council of England and with additional financial support from East Sussex County Council and West Sussex Libraries.

Telling the story of human existence in the Sussex landscape from Neolithic times to the 21st Century, John May¹s text takes the form of a long narrative poem, weaving disparate strands of historical and archaeological research, myth and folklore into an accessible popular ballad form, revealing and giving voice to the teeming ancestral ghosts and spirits of the County whilst paying homage to its multifarious social, cultural and geographic icons.

Peter Messer¹s twelve paintings in the book are unique originals, individually executed on stretched Fabriano paper. The medium used was mainly gum tempera, an emulsion of gum Arabic, stand oil and dammar varnish, into which raw pigment was ground. This versatile medium has more body than watercolour and is more luminous than gouache. Because gum tempera can be a difficult medium to control closely, it was worked over in a compatible egg tempera emulsion in order to obtain depth and detail.

The design and construction of the book itself was dictated by a desire to be able to display, if required, all the pages at once. Thus a concertina binding was selected, but because the book was so large and heavy Rachel Ward-Sale decided to combine the book with its own box, giving added stability and strength, opting for a drop-back box secured by two hinge fastenings. The front cover is bound in green Nigerian goatskin with twelve square recesses, each square containing a painted depiction of the sky from one of the different illustrations in the book.

The collaborative team also wish to acknowledge the contributions of Simeon Smythe (metal fastenings), Colin Sullivan (lectern/carrying case) and Meg Sullivan (photography).

Facsimile Edition

A pocket size facsimile edition of The Book of Sussex Revelations, with full colour illustrations, priced £3.95, has also been published for the wider enjoyment of the people of Sussex and visitors to the County. This will be available at locations where the big book is on display, at selected Sussex bookshops or direct from SLDN. Alternatively, you can order the book direct from your nearest bookseller, quoting ISBN No. 0 9538855 0 X

Tour Details

The tour of The Book of Sussex Revelations will be complemented by a number of local projects exploring in greater detail the identities of different areas of the County. For further information on these projects, and how it may be possible to get involved, contact SLDN at the address below.

Tour Dates 2000

Apart from inclusion in specific exhibitions thereafter, the Book of Sussex Revelations is expected to reside at the following locations: 2001: Chichester, W. Sussex (venue to be confirmed) 2002: Brighton & Hove (venue to be confirmed) 2003: Sussex Room, New Lewes Library, E. Sussex

About Sussex Literature Development Network

The Sussex Literature Development Network (SLDN) is a constituted network of organisations with a special interest in furthering the development of literature in Sussex.

The group¹s membership ranges from independent promoters, publishers and agencies, to venues with a special interest in new writing, to local authority Arts Development Officers, to representatives of East Sussex and West Sussex County Council Library Services. The one thing that all of these organisations have in common is a desire to see live literature events, new writing and readers¹ groups flourishing in Sussex.

Past projects include two literature mini festivals: Roots, Radicals and Writing in Sussex (1995) and Moving & Shaking (1997); two literature development training days: Off the Page (1994) and Changing Lives with Literature (1999), as well as a more subtle contribution to the overall pattern of literature development in Sussex, establishing new links and crossovers between different organisations and individuals.

Forthcoming projects include an Independent Press Fair scheduled to take place at the Komedia Theatre, Brighton, in early April 2001.

To order the popular facsimile edition of 'The Book of Sussex Revelations', send a cheque, made payable to 'Sussex Literature Development Network', to:

SLDN c/o Sussex Arts Marketing, Unit 11b, Dyke Road Mews, 74 Dyke Road, Brighton BN1 3JD.

The cost is £3.95 per book (plus 50p p&p per book).

E-mail requests to: info@artsinsussex.com

Revelations.pdf