Muttonbirds: part of a story 

An artist's book to accompany a touring exhibition of 30 photographs by Bruce Connew of muttonbirds (titi) at sea, and muttonbirding on Taukihepa.

The book presents the photographs alongside a 12,000-word oral history told to Connew by Dean Tiemi Te Au about a harsh upbringing and an arduous and remarkable journey to reclaim his rights.

To make an artist's book that will be viewed and read with care yet treasured as an object by both an art and an appropriate general audience, all on an inevitably limited budget.

To react with restrained design to themes of beauty and hope, juxtaposed with controversy and conflict. The Kraft paper cover encases the content of the book, as if 'a bomb in plain wrapping'.

The reader is drawn into Te Au's story - tough, personal and poignant. The type is set in Clarendon Bold and composed offbeat, the blocks of text balancing each other, rhythmic, bird-like.

The horizontal format presents the photographs with dignity, as single duotone images on a French-fold, wirobound, the muttonbirds at sea interwoven with Te Au and his sons' muttonbirding - a poem of symbiosis and of hope in the face of conflict.

The book is the result of a strong collaboration between photographer and designer - the designer was intimately involved in the idea, the journey and the discussion that surrounded the project from its inception to its resolution. The 600 signed and numbered limited edition sold out.

BEST Awards 2004: Finalist, Editorial and Books

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