Parallel Encyclopedia 1 by Batia Suter / ISBN 9789492811981 / 592 page hardcover, 8.5 x 11.25 inches, illustrated throughout in b&w, from Roma Publications (NL) / text in English A somewhat overwhelming object and highly recommended [now out-of-print, though the equally-great vol 2 just got reprinted] *** Batia Suter’s work intuitively situates found images in new contexts to provoke surprising reactions and significative possibilities. ‘Parallel Encyclopedia’, which she conceived between 2004 and 2007, contains a precise composition of numerous images taken solely from other books. Significant underlying themes expressed in the Amsterdam-based, Swiss artist’s practice are the “iconification” and “immunogenicity” of old images, and the circumstances by which they assume or become charged with new associative values. This is a reprint of Suter’s voluminous book, originally published in 2007 and covering a pictorial plethora of human history, science, philosophy, art, and culture.
