The Book of Kells

"Deconstruction is a weaving of historical study, literary theory, travel narrative, meditative prose, mystical contemplation, and academic inquiry. All elements are united by research and reflection on The Book of Kells, an illuminated Latin version of the Bible circa 800 AD, and the techniques that produced it. The prose of Deconstruction is informed by my travel and close survey of The Book of Kells at Trinity College Dublin. Additionally, Deconstruction touches upon the evolution of how writing is disseminated from manuscript culture to Gutenberg and the Internet, as well as how these media are implicated in the increasing liberation of the reader, both in terms of social access and the reading practice itself ... Reflecting on the original manuscript's hypertextual melding of text and image, the icons of The Book prompt the texts of Deconstruction: lexias emerge from and are symbolized by designs on the manuscript's folios. Overall, the work is a study on the original manuscript within the scriptorium of electronic media and methods." -- From the Artist's Statement