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Marlene MacCallum

WorkBook Works pink story: sinistral/dextral

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pink story: sinistral/dextral, two volume hand bound fold-out books in a wrapper case with button closure. Dextral uses a combination of screenprinting and letterpress. Sinistral uses a combination of photogravure and letterpress, 2004—05

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Detail of pink story: dextral, this is a reworking of Barb Hunt’s installation piece, letterpress on screenprinting, 62 × 103 cm (expanded size), 2004—05

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The two volumes sitting in the wrapper, detail of pink story: sinistral, closed size of the book work is 21 × 22 × 5 cm, 2004—05

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Details of pink story: sinistral, opening the book work and fully opened view, 96 × 122 cm (expanded size), 2004—05

This two-volume collaborative work with Barb Hunt brings together two seemingly contradictory representations of a woman's life. pink story: dextral is an artificially constructed narrative of a stereotypical woman's life. Paint chips offer the promise of covering flaws, and the paint surface creates a façade. In contrast to this external perspective, pink story: sinistral presents an internalized story; constructed of photographs that represent spaces metaphoric of key stages in a woman's life. The use of the tile format in both volumes links the pieces together formally, and the visual narratives become mosaics. The result is two volumes that are like mirror images, reflecting each other, and offering to the viewer a paradoxical reality.