mixed media printing and leporello bookbinding
Combining multiple techniques, these closing workshops explored the book as a collective space, bringing participants together in a hands-on, collaborative process to reimagine the possibilities of the medium while reflecting on the editing process and self-publishing.
For our collective book, we chose the leporello format, a foldable binding technique that can be read either by flipping through its pages like a conventional book or by fully extending it as one continuous, panoramic page. Dividing the sessions into two parts, we focused on the process of self-publishing an artist’s book, guiding participants through the stages of concept and content creation, layout, and editing.
In the first part, each participant developed a single page on an A3 sheet following a textual prompt. At the start, participants wrote down five words related to the project themes, including stories of migration, bookbinding, and printing. After mixing them in a box, each participant drew three words and used them to compose a page, creating collages from pre-cut images and text fragments.
In the second part, we focused on layout and editing. Pages were cut, rearranged, and combined, transforming individual works into a collaborative leporello. To guide this transition, we used the surrealist exercise Exquisite Corpse, drawing on participants’ experiences of migration to Berlin to create intertwined stories without a linear script.
In the final book, participants combined their work, thoughts, and intentions while incorporating techniques explored throughout the year. Prints from earlier sessions were revisited and combined with new experiments, including monoprinting, linocut, and phototransfer. These elements were interwoven with narratives and personal memories, evolving through reuse, layering, and reinterpretation. Finally, the book was digitised and published online, enabling broader distribution.
These workshops were part of a broader series developed in 2025, where each month focused on the combination of two or more techniques, always pairing one bookbinding method with one printing process. Participants were young people aged 6 to 27, and the project aimed to teach artistic techniques that could be used autobiographically, encouraging self-publishing within the group.
Art mediators: Daniela Herig & Alicja Khatchikian
Design: Clara Juliano
November and December 2025, Bona Peiser e.V.