Art Metropole

#11665

O, A Prayer Book

Writer

Samuel Hasler

Date

2015

Publisher

Book Works

Format

Artists' Books

Genre

Literary

Description

‘The maid of Mega Maid smiles at me from the counter. She’s very attractive but I’m not in any kind of place to perv here. Mute and inadequate I point at something on the menu that looks like a black coffee and I realise we’ve not communicated as she starts to make a milkshake. She turns around and bends over to get the milk off of the bottom shelf of the fridge. I would have loved to perv on that beautiful view. On a normal night I might have enjoyed this, but in this mix, this moment I am trying to keep a clear head. All I can think is how bad it could be. How long before the end?’

An incantation and repetition of prayers, marks the introduction to a young man’s isolated, creatively-stifled existence. Deluded by the stagnating mythology of great European modernist artists, he escapes the drudgery of the supermarket nightshift but not his perverse imagination. He travels to Moscow and Venice on a journey that causes reflection on his romantic ideas; his desire for a wild, bohemian life; his crude libido; and his increasing doubts about his faith. The book operates as both a story and as a material context for a body of work; a spine connecting performances, readings, installations and printing.

Samuel Hasler lives and works in Cardiff. His approach to making artwork is varied, it includes writing, performance, printmaking and installations. He has recently presented work with Book Works (London), The Whitstable Biennale, Spike Island (Bristol), and Arnolfini (Bristol).

O, A Prayer Book by Samuel Hasler, is published by Book Works, in an edition of 1,000; black and white; 148pp; with a soft cover.

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