Artist Carlos Amorales

Today is Friday, June 12th

Rag & Bone Bindery is open for business

(read our post from Wednesday, March 25th for more information about how we're able to remain open for business)

A few years ago, we hung our own swarm of hand-cut black paper bats from the ceiling of our living space above the bindery for Halloween. Today, we learn from the master, and take a look at a recent exhibition from the multimedia artist Carlos Amorales, “one of Mexico’s most important contemporary artists from the 1990s to the present day”. The work is titled “Black Cloud,” composed of a swarm of 36,000 black paper moths in 36 different styles affixed to the bright white walls of the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam where the installation was recently on view.

Amorales’ work is often deeply personal and surreal, borrowing from his own dreams, nightmares, and his observations of countercultural phenomena. Black Cloud, he says, began with a dream “about a room full of moths, an image so powerful that he immediately wanted to materialize it as an artwork”. The experience of walking through the exhibition has been described as entering a “fanciful underworld,” a dark fantasy.

We're so grateful to be able to continue to make books and to help you be creative at home. Please remain safe and take care of friends and family. Contact us anytime if you have questions. Use our contact page to send a direct message, or call us at 401 728 0762. We're usually in the Bindery by 9:00 and leave around 4:00 (EST). Cheers! - Jason