Ekaterina Panikanova

Today is Wednesday, July 1st

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)

Hello everyone! Today in the bindery we’re looking at the work of Ekaterina Panikanova, an artist born in St. Petersburg, Russia, now living in Rome, Italy who paints onto old books, magazines, posters, and any antique documents arranged in panels and opened to pages showcasing illustrations that she sees as additive to her work. She first began painting onto old pages when she came across a 700-page manuscript at a flea market and "was struck by the difference between its original purpose and the way it became over time”. A text may wear its years through visible damage and repair, or be intentionally marked with dog eared pages and notes in the margins. Beyond enjoying the way in which she is able to read into the personality of the book’s owner through these markings, Panikanova finds that there is a distinction between a used book and a new book that is reminiscent of the Russian belief that there is a difference between an icon which has been “prayed to” and one which has not; she writes that “a book that has been read acquires the same energy as an icon which has been worshiped”. Though her work is inspired by her “Soviet past,” Panikanova “continuously strive[s] to widen [her] areas of interest” through her studies in Italy and by using books from many different countries to create her artwork.

See more at https://www.yatzer.com/ekaterina-panikanova