Soon after The Book Band started, the Covid-19 pandemic hit and we could no longer meet up. This project was developed through the restrictions that this placed on us. Firstly, we sent to one other member two double spreads of paper and some assorted paper and objects for collage. Each artist created two half-finished collages using those materials, and then sent each page to one other person. The resulting pages were then bound together in a crown binding, using envelopes stamped with ‘Do Not Bend’ which gave us our title. This was particularly appropriate, since during the postal process, two pieces of work were very severely bent and creased on the way, which added to their charm, we hope.

Do Not Bend crown bound book between envelope covers
Do Not Bend crown bound book between envelope covers

Do Not Bend collage pages with crown binding
Do Not Bend is a group collaboration where group members worked on each other’s pages, sent through the post.

Do Not Bend structure
Do Not Bend book showing structure (crown binding). A collaborative project conducted by posting items between group members