Gunnesch, Stefan: De Profundis, Two Loves The artist’s book deals with the love story of Oscar Wilde and Lord Alfred Douglas, which came to a dramatic end with Wilde’s arrest and conviction.
In the poetic part of the book, fragments of Wilde’s “De Profundis” are printed together with lines from the poem “Two Loves” by Lord Alfred Douglas. The result is a typographical encounter, a dialogue, an interpenetration – without, however, coming together completely.
The second part of the book contains a different juxtaposition: the entire text of “De Profundis” is contrasted with records of the Wilde trials (text by Charles Grolleau, 1906). Thus, on the one side there is Wilde’s inside view from prison, on the other the outside view of Wilde in the courtroom. The poem “Two Loves” plays a particularly key role, as it was not only a hidden confession of love by Douglas, but was also presented as evidence against Wilde during his trials.
The type area of the book is proportionally based on the dimensions of Wilde’s prison cell in Reading Gaol. Graphic elements are developed from it, which become a decorative frame of social etiquette, a stage for two lovers or walls that do not let the inside out. A pale green runs through the book as a signature color – based on the green carnation that Wilde often wore on his lapel. The green is complemented by gold, which is used in sections of the book as real gold leaf.
The poetic staging of the poem and the text pages of the trials are complemented by abstract portraits of Wilde and Douglas, which are each made unique through printing, drawing and gilding. Engl., Hardcover with thread stitching
Inkjet print, original drawing, gilding, 92p, 7,7 x 11,4 inch, Ed. of 13, num., sign., Leipzig, 2024, Edition Bildschriftlich Request of availability backnext