Title
Preview
Description
Pillowtalk is a book that contains the moments and thoughts of my relationships as a homosexual male who grows up in a traditional Chinese culture. This book is bound in chain stitch of handmade paper with found text, and in addition to the book, there are individual sheets of papers records the unspoken words. This pink toned paper was handmade out of linear cotton, and I used the letter stamp to leave an “I love you” mark. The purple papers were made of my current boyfriends’ and my clothes, and I stamped my previous boyfriends’ name in faded silver and have my current boyfriend’s name stamped in bold gold. There are unspoken conversations and words under the names, they are pressed letter on the surface without the foils. I stitched over the broken pages with the delicate gold thread. In Chinese culture, we use gold to imply things that is strong, honest, and loyal; it is a metaphor of relationship is imperfect, the perfect relationship is put together by the lovers. For the found text, I tore down some pages from random love novels, and then I cut off the words or phrase that speaks to me. All of these found texts start making a narrative itself when I start playing the orders. Then I press the found text into the paper when I handcraft the paper. As a Chinese gay man, I was not allowed to express or chase the love I want to have, therefore the nighttime becomes the little secret space I have. All of these sweet thoughts and dreams I have about the boys, all of the fantasies of the ideal relationship I was imaging, they have to stay in my mind because it is not “normal.” Also, the relationships I have had shaped the way how I look at my demands from another person, and how I behave in the relationship. This book reflects what I have gone through and learned from my relationships, and my relationships taught me how to love. It is important to love someone, it is also important to know how to love someone.
Type
Article
College
Information Technology & Resources
Unit
University Libraries
Location
John C. Hitt Library
Department
Special Collections & University Archives
Type
image
Collection
Book Arts & Typography
Recommended Citation
Wan, Jacob, "Pillowtalk" (2018). 13th Annual Student Book Arts Competition. 9.
https://stars.library.ucf.edu/bookartsexhibit-13thannual/9