The concept behind The Menagerie – An Alphabet Book came from reproducing seventeenth century engravings of animals within the ‘100 Days Project’. While I was studying the technique these engravers had employed – their fine lines and textures – a narrative grew from the relationships formed between the creatures and their personalities.

The original handprinted book, on which this edition is based, has been accepted for exhibition in:
• the Manly Library Artists’ Book Award 2017, Sydney;
• the Print Council New Zealand exhibition ‘Boundless’, at Pataka Art + Museum, Porirua;
• Aratoi Wairarapa Museum of Art and History, Masterton, and
• ‘Homework – Taranaki Art Now’, Puke Ariki Musuem, New Plymouth.

I hope you enjoy this book as much as I have enjoyed creating it.