AustLit

'Birds have featured regularly in Peter Lyssiotis’ work – The Bird, The Belltower; Birds from Byzantium and now, Ah, Those Thieving Birds! Lyssiotis uses the prose poem, which reached its heights in France between the Wars, because it allows him to move slyly between both the real and the surreal. Although the poems are set in a familiar domestic setting, the inevitable unexpected insight or the slightest twist of the narrative give the work wings with which to fly beyond the everyday. Toula Nicolacopoulos has written the Introduction to this chapbook.' (Publication summary)

Published by Ant Press for Bibliotheca Librorum apud Artificem, The Silent Scream 'presents, not only a companion catalogue to an exhibition held at Monash University Rare Books, but also a journey through some of humanity's most inhumane and hypocritical moments. Reaching back to William Blake with a facsimile of his illuminated book America : A Prophecy then travelling through the two world wars and on to the modern era the catalogue provides insights into 77 influential books and works presented in book form.... For the first time in Australia the work of Australian artists and writers working in the field of bookarts have been placed into a context with an international and historical perspective. Each book has been profiled with images and an accompanying commentary. Monica Oppen and Peter Lyssiotis, both practicing artists, lend their unique perspective to the social content and the techniques behind the production of these books' (Bibliotheca Librorum Apud Artificem website).

Oppen responds to a suite of images, a proof of a book which has never been finished given to her by Lyssiotis. Finding the images brutal and confronting rather than throwing the work away she writes her response questioning how far has feminism got us if someone can still nonchalantly produce images such as these. The coda text about patriarchy is from Grace King’s tumblr stream and was used with permission. This book focuses on keeping open discussion about women, feminism, the patriarchy, media and the overall possibility of gender equality in our present and future societies.

'The most powerful way to breakdown stereotypes is by asking questions, by keeping discussion alive. Only then can we move towards a new reality' (Monica Oppen, Bibliotheca Librorum apud Artificem catalogue).

The second edition was produced in the style and with the materiality of a famous magazine. The images were taken from a selection of women's magazines, notably Harper’s Bazar.

This work revolves around presenting a famous city through photographs (Oppen) and poetry (Lyssiotis) while avoiding clichés. Oppen does this by photographing without looking into the viewfinder in order to free her photography from any subconscious direction. Lyssiotis’ poetry adds a further psychological dimension to the work.

'I wanted to photograph a famous city but avoid the cliché shots. I wanted to photograph that famous city from being in the city. The best way to do this was to mark out an itinerary and then as I walked take photographs without looking through the view finder so the tourist-mind couldn't edit or compose—it was a way of overriding those clichés! The text by Peter Lyssiotis adds another dimension—the psychological' (Monica Oppen, Bibliotheca Librorum apud Artificem catalogue).

Seven Rooms is a narrative brought back from the interior. The travels document surreal spaces and deep transformations which hit at the possibilities of change on a personal and a social level.

'Peter Lyssiotis (photomontage) and Oppen (poetry) combine photomontage with poetry to create a narrative/documentation of "surreal spaces and deep transformations." Both artists hint through their works that there are possibilities for personal and social changes within these profound and complex spaces and transformations' (Monica Oppen, Bibliotheca Librorum apud Artificem catalogue).