Fabre’s book of insects

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“We all have our own talents, our special gifts. Sometimes, these gifts seem to come to us from our forefathers, but more often, it is difficult to trace their origin.” This lavishly illustrated book opens with an excerpt from a text by the etymologist, J. Henri Fabre, a distant relative of Jan Fabre. It is followed by a series of drawings depicting various insects which the elder Fabre described in his ‘Souvenirs Entomologiques’ at the end of the 19th century: spiders, beetles, walking sticks, etc. Jan Fabre’s drawings are a meticulously crafted and detailed as J. Henri Fabre’s writing. The book closes with a section on “imaginary insects,” a testament to this combination of science and imagination. Ref.1

J. Henri Fabre, the nineteenth century entomologist, was a distant relative of the artist and provided the inspiration for this latterday lexicon on bugs. Gold-embossed cover houses exquisitely obsessive illustrations. Ref.3

Imschoot Uitgevers In 1987 publishing house Imschoot (Ghent- Belgium) started an exceptional series of artists’ books made by international artists (Giovanni Anselmo, Sol LeWitt, John Baldessari, Lawrence Weiner, Hanne Darboven, Robert Barry, Christian Boltanski, Dan Graham, a.o.). Ref.4
In addition to the regular softcover edition (500 to 1000 copies), a deluxe hardcover edition was also issued in a very limited edition, numbered and signed by the artists.
The publishing house ceased its activities in 2006.

Imschoot Uitgevers In 1987 publishing house Imschoot (Ghent- Belgium) started an exceptional series of artists’ books made by international artists (Giovanni Anselmo, Sol LeWitt, John Baldessari, Lawrence Weiner, Hanne Darboven, Robert Barry, Christian Boltanski, Dan Graham, a.o.). Ref.4
In addition to the regular softcover edition (500 to 1000 copies), a deluxe hardcover edition was also issued in a very limited edition, numbered and signed by the artists.
The publishing house ceased its activities in 2006.

References

• Ref.1: Imschoot, uitgevers Catalogue 1993-1994, Artists’ books
• Ref.2: IM-series The IM-series is a collection of artists’ books, published on the occasion of the exhibition series “Affinités Sélectives” at the Palais des Beaux-Arts, Brussels, organized by Bernard Marcadé. The artists were given complete freedom to develop their project, not necessarily matching their exhibition. A constant format of 14,8 x 21 cms. was adopted.
• Ref.3: Imschoot, uitgevers [2002] Catalogue
• Ref.4: Johan Pas (Een essay door -), Het kunstenaarsboek in België: de voorzet tot een geschiedenis., Kunstenpunt