Cynthia Nourse Thompson

Memphis, Tennessee

Grievous

handmade paper, goatskin, thread, nickel clasps

6 x 9 x 3 closed; 9 x 12 open, with 12 inch girdle

edition of 5

© 2010

$3200

Letterpress printed from photopolymer plates on paper made from the cotton rag fiber of an unblessed cappa, or cloak— as part of the habit of The Order of Preachers founded by Saint Dominic [1170–1221]. This black cloak is worn as a sign of penance, while the underlying white habit in contrast, equates purity.

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Remorse

handmade paper, goatskin, thread, nickel clasps

6 x 9 x 3 closed; 9 x 12 open, with 12 inch girdle

edition of 5

© 2010

$3200

Letterpress printed from photopolymer plates made from the cotton rag fiber of unblessed purificators and corporals— linens which are governed at the Sacrifice of the Mass of the Catholic Church and are used to cover the body [wafer] and blood [wine] during the Communion Ceremony. The sequence of watermarks were adapted from the monograph Floriated Ornament: A Series of Thirty-one Designs by Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin [1812-1852] and were originally published by Henry G. Bohn, London in 1849.

Both books are hand-bound as girdle books with goatskin, have hand-sewn headbands and nickel clasps made by the artist.

These pieces contain strong religious undertones and have often been described as Catholic in nature and aesthetic — clean, pure, and ordered. Many of the surfaces and materials used in Thompson’s work simulate flesh and thus evoke the body, an association of great significance. Using the body as the site of personal investigation, the physical manifestations of denial, shame, and oppression are explored and issues surrounding the female body are examined.

Cynthia Thompson is Professor of Book and Paper Arts and Chair of the Fine Arts Department at Memphis College of Art. She has also been visiting faculty at University of Georgia?s study abroad program in Cortona, Italy. Thompson was the recipient of the 2003 Tennessee State Arts Commission Fellowship Grant and has been awarded numerous other residencies.