In King John's Land

2015 - altered book - unique

'Re-Imagining the laws of England' is a project initiated by the Sidney Nolan Trust to celebrate the 800th anniversary of the sealing of the Magna Carta.
Volumes of the ‘Halsbury’s Statutes were 'altered by different artists.

Volume 2 [Allotments and Small Holdings, Animals, Arbitration] re-imagines ‘the commons’ at the time of King John and places within a ‘small holding’ some of the fauna and flora which might have been the subjects of arbitration or legal debate.

The volume itself has been dug into, cut and plowed to end up into a rectangular patch of land where domesticated and wild animals roam freely. The core of the book, its spine bristling with the remnants of pages, has been ‘sown’ with herbs and plants that might have been grown in allotments or gardens in the early years of 13th century.

The exhibition of the altered volumes, The Re-Imagining the laws of England, opened at the Sidney Nolan Trust’s home, The Rodd in the Welsh Marches, in 2015 and toured to venues nationally through 2016 and 2017.

£ 450 + P&P