Mythologie

This portfolio contains a set of lithographic prints of handwritten poems by Jean Cocteau and illustrations by artist Giorgio de Chirico. It is not conventionally bound, there is a tactile element to untying the book’s three ribbon-like restraints in order to view its loose-leaf content. Chirico’s illustrations have a distinct throughline of jagged, zig-zagging lines representing water in various forms: lakes, rivers, swimming pools and streams. Figures of nude bathers wade and soak, observed by men in suits and classical sculptures in tightly cropped spaces. Cocteau’s choice to print the text in his handwriting instead of letterpress is unusual, in that it calls attention to the physical act of writing in ways that wouldn’t have been possible with conventional forms of printed text. The florid script, personal like a handwritten letter, takes on a unique visual character, eroding the barriers between drawing and poetry.