Scattered words

In ‘Songlines’, Bruce Chatwin describes the invisible ancient tracks that criss cross Australia that were sung into existence by the Aborigines and their ancestors. He suggests that the ancestral trails in Australia may also have their origins in Africa. In inheriting the songline, the song becomes both map and direction finder, and as long as you know the song, then you can always find your destination. This book has been inspired by the nomadic tribes in Northern Africa who travel through the vast landscape, scattering words and music along the lines of their evanescent footprints. The book is an accordion style structure, and has a limp leather long stitch binding. The leather is African calf skin which has been traditionally tanned and dyed with vegetables. The pages include a hand cut trail of footprints and a poem which sweeps through the pages

“Tread softly upon the earth because the faces of the unborn look up at you”

— James Cameron