Huwawa in the Everyday: An Almanac
Couch, Amanda (2016) Huwawa in the Everyday: An Almanac. [Book art/Artist's book]
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Huwawa in the Everyday is a photobook in the form of a medieval medical folding almanac. Folding almanacs were worn from the belt, containing astrological, medical and calendric information, and employed by physicians to prognosticate and diagnose. This book contains twelve images, one for each month, of entrails or coiled materials encountered in my art materials, research and the everyday that might resemble the demon Huwawa/Humbaba’s face.
The form of the book makes reference to the 15th century folding almanac in the Wellcome library. The cover of my book, made from a collagraphic plate of embroidered text and image when printed, creates an embossed surface which nods to the textured silk binding covers of the Wellcome’s manuscript. The face of Huwawa on the cover, is based on the Mesopotamian divination model housed in the British Museum, which portrays Huwawa’s face as coiled intestines. The inscription on the reverse of the model reveals an omen that if entrails were encountered that look like this model, it would mean 'revolution'.
The book was exhibited at Prescriptions: artist' books on wellbeing and medicine, at the Beaney Museum of Art and Knowledge, Canterbury, 2016 and is held in the Special Collections & Archives at the University of Kent and the Wellcome Library, London.
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