Here are some pictures of the books! (My artbook Forgotten Gods is still available on my webshop: https://fr.yoannlossel.com/shop)
And some secrets revealed:
For almost a year and a half I designed this book in its entirety. It was conceived as an art object, in the vein of 19th century art books and illustration books. It is an obvious tribute to the golden age of illustration, to Arts&Crafts and to the artists of this period that I love so much, especially William Morris.
I drew and inked each motif, each frame, each decorated initials, each cul-de-lampe. Several plants and flowers were chosen, our favourites with Psyche, for the initials and vignette frames: bluebell, jasmine, honeysuckle, wisteria, bramble, thistle. Depending on the theme of the text, the flowers that decorate the initials change.
Forgotten Gods speaks of the "Marriage of Heaven and Hell" to use William Blake's title. More simply, it is about the marriage between nature, matter, and aspirations, concepts, ideas. This is the theme that interests me in art. I created the frames around the texts to illustrate this thread that drives the book. The first frames of the book are composed of vegetal elements. The last frames are composed of more celestial symbols: moons, suns, stars.
Thus, I designed the endpapers, the title page illustration and the colophon to reflect the symbolism of the book. The interlacing of vegetation and celestial elements that mark the progression of the book are found there. Thistles, clouds, stars and suns for the title page. A ribbon that links brambles to the stars and the moon on the title page. Vegetal interlacing around a moon and a sun for the colophon.
Forgotten Gods presents my work of the last decade: a selection of my works, my technique, my Arts&Crafts collaborations, the story of our meeting and artistic collaborations with Psyche. I talk about my themes, my way of conceiving a work and my artistic philosophy. Several authors have joined me to talk about one of my works from their own perspective. The preface and afterword complement each other beautifully, written by Alan Lee and Florence Alibert.
