In »Solitude,« a chapter of »Walden« Thoreau describes the advantages of solitary life in his cabin in the woods of Massachusetts, where he lived as a hermit for two years beginning in 1845. All of the materials used come from the medical field or the restoration supply industry. For example, the text is printed on filter paper that was originally used in labs, just like the round filters bearing the graphics. In order to emphasize the clear, almost sterile impression, I did not use any color; the book comes to life through the different materials and white tones. The font, designed especially for this project by Alex Sonderegger at so+ba in Tokyo, is embossed into the soft filter paper using transparent printing ink. Each page of text shows the delicate outline of a circle that stands for one of the 14 filters included in the book. The round paper filters show abstract symbols and elements, all of which come from graphics representing the global coronavirus events in the spring of 2020. In the context of Thoreau’s praise of nature and solitude, however, they could also be illustrations from the area around Walden Pond. The book has a flexible binding made of Paraprint non-woven fabric, a material that is used in restoration to cover delicate surfaces. The book and filters are stored separately in folded packaging made of archival cardboard, with a Silk-screened title. The book is a collaboration with jewelry designer Susan Pietzsch from Tokyo.

Printed with polymer plates on 598 filter paper and DP 598 150 round filters from Hahnemühle.
Binding made from Enduro Ice-paper and Paraprint non-woven fabric.
Box made of various corrugated archival cardboards from Klug Conservation, Silk-screened title.
–––––––
16 pages + 14 round filters, 27 x 22 cm
Edition: 50 copies numbered with Arabic numerals, 8 copies numbered with Roman numerals
–––––––
Karlsruhe and Tokyo, 2021