A Loving Critique on Souvenirs

BFA Thesis Exhibition, Artist Book, 2019

Since 2013, I have developed a strong fascination for Egyptian souvenirs and collecting them. Part of the interest comes from my love for the beauty of the objects and the personal relationship, nostalgia, and memories that I associate with them. Another part of it is my hatred for the misrepresentation of Egypt as a country by representing it solely through cliche symbols of ancient Egypt. While it is impossible to remove these images from the tourist lens, through sharing these, I hope to add another layer of depth to these objects.

An in-depth analysis article on the piece can be found here.

Context

1 year

Mason Gross School of the Arts, Rutgers University

Contribution

Book design, photography, in-house printing, and kettle stitch hand-binding

The goal of this project is to beautify culture while allowing us to recognize the problematic stereotypes associated with it.

Cover

The cover is a souvenir fabric that is amongst the souvenirs photographed in the book. It is a pattern often used in decorations for Ramadan, a month-long holiday in the Islamic faith.

End pages

The end pages consist of another photo of the same souvenir fabric used for the cover. This common pattern is used to introduce the book, as it is a tradition that is associated with happiness and kindness.

Content

The book displays different souvenirs individually to showcase their uniqueness and personality, as well as subtly pointing out the flaws in souvenir culture. The photos are then followed up by close-ups of the souvenir to slow the reader down and allow them to observe each souvenir in detail. This is opposite of what is found in tourist posters, which are often quick-to-read images to allow the viewer to quickly recognize and digest the location

being advertised.

Sample Spreads

Each initial spread depicts a photographed souvenir from my collection paired with a description and a note on how the souvenir was received and when.

Since souvenirs are usually seen as unimportant objects to be dismissed, the following spread after the initial souvenir spread is a close-up of a detail of that souvenir.

The captions give my initial thoughts on the object. Some of the captions are plain and simple, while others are quirky or challenging.

While some of the captions are solely opinion based, others incorporate facts or allude to facts.

Camels souvenirs are a common theme through the book. This is because of the stereotype of Egypt being populated with camels. In reality, all camels in Egypt are domesticated, and Egypt is ranked 21 in the list of countries with the most camels.

Another common object group is souvenirs based off of Ancient Egypt. These souvenirs are commonly found due both to the fame and awe of the accomplishments of the Ancient Egyptians, as well as the unfortunate reality that it is what people associate Egypt with, regardless of the fact that modern society does not relate their daily lives to ancient Egypt.

Typeface

Materials

-Adobe InDesign

-Canon t3i

-Xerox Printer

-Jade (PVA) Glue

-Japanese Rice Paper for spine covering and cloth backing

-Book cloth for headbands

-book board

-cloth for cover

-bookbinding thread

-awl

-bookpress

-bone folder

-punching cradle

-guillotine

Beyond the Book

To display the book, I chose to create a setting that feels like a modern American home, except oddly filled with souvenirs and nothing else, highlighting the souvenirs and their value as well as the kitsch aspect of them. The setting additionally adds a layer of nostalgia, or feeling that there are memories associated with the location and objects.