“Hindsight is 20/20,” some wise (or perhaps regret-ridden) person once said. That’s why it would be handy if we humans could edit the past once we’ve made a mess of it. We can’t, but there’s still an inclination to alter events in the retelling. It’s a concept plumbed in the new exhibition, Rewriting History, a group show by The Book & Print Arts Collective. It opens at Asheville BookWorks (428 ½ Haywood Rd.) on Friday, March 7 and runs through Saturday, May 24.
The exhibit “explores the theme of shifting identity and plays with perceptions of our collective public and private histories,” says press for the event. The collective’s artists created books and prints around those ideas. “Themes of love, family, science, and myth are all expressed through the artist books and prints featured in the show. Michelle Francis’ book took inspiration from a 1904 correspondence between a woman and her former beau. Gwen Diehn’s small monotypes depict a cat rewriting a stressful morning by rolling freely and luxuriously on the pavement.”
Diehn and other members will talk about their works during the March 7 opening reception, from 6-9 p.m.
