Libro de las Preguntas, Yon Ti Liv Kesyon, A Book of Questions

In the early 1990’s, Haitian and Cuban refugees were detained in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba under the supervision of the American military. A Book of Questions, is comprised of queries directed toward three groups of people (Haitian detainees, Cuban detainees and GTMO employees, including soldiers, physicians and social workers) whose paths intersected during a specific moment in GTMO’s history. It is a gesture of memory and reconciliation, to remember together. The questions were written in Spanish by Aurora De Armendi Sobrino and translated into Haitian Creole and English.

This hand-sewn artist’s book, inspired in part by Pablo Neruda’s El libro de las preguntas, was letterpress printed on Zerkall book paper from polymer plates made by Boxcar press. The yellow, blue, and rust colored texts silk screened onto dyed paper were appropriated from poems XI, XXI, and XXIII in Neruda’s book. Cave Handmade paper was used for the cover. The book was sewn on tapes. Tapes were constructed using military uniform from the 1990’s. The book comes with a hand-made slipcase.

Dimensions: 7 1/4 x 11 7/16 x 1 inches

Edition: 10

Year: 2014 – 2015