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Poison Garden, 2022.

Illustrations: Martu  Hlavajová

Content& Graphic Design& Bound: Barbora Kováčová

 

Self-published.

Poison Garden is released in 91 hand-bound copies. 

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Poison Garden is a book about six deadly poisonous plants
and their taxonomy, history, folk & poison tales.

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Poison Garden was slowly becoming. Appearing little by little. This book was made during 4 years of organic cooperation between graphic designer and artist Barbora Kováčová and illustrator Martu Hlavajová. Both working from different countries, thus born in the same land. Feverish work was shifting with the long silences between the new chapters. Adding…waiting…editing and waiting again.

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This book was created by two artists from Slovakia - Martu based in Prague & Barbora based in Copenhagen.

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Poison Garden is crafted and hand bound by Barbora. Book was crafted half home, half in Actum, Copenhagen. Old craft of hand-binding, creating book from the scratch. Masurements. Paper, matte-matte-matte. Cover, soft, not shiny. Print- all those colours, bleeds and cutting marks… and then suddenly so much glue. Glue here and there. Everywhere. Cutting, measuring ..ah…and cutting again. And at least ….a golden foil. Old machine is slowly heating up. Basement. Everything is analog again.  I am waiting for the right moment. It can not be too hot, but nor lukewarm. Tens of samples and the first book was stamped. The black ink on my fingernails. My hands, black.  The book is completely black. 

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The texts are based
on scientific knowledge from botany, toxicology, and chemistry.

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