Hometown:
Dates in Sitka:
Jimmy Riordan splits his time between Alaska and Pennsylvania. Riordan’s practice extends beyond the bounds of any specific field or medium. His projects have involved earth building, augmented reality, letterpress and translation to name a few. All emphasizing research and Riordan’s interest in the self-taught and group learning. His work is often participatory and involves collaboration with other artists, craftspeople and social scientists.Riordan prints artist publications under the imprint Rabbit Rabbit Press. His artwork has been shown internationally and the bookwork comprising his Le Roman du Lièvre project can be found in the library collections of the New York MOMA and the Tate Britain.
Since September 2014 Riordan has been touring his translation of Le Roman duLièvre, reading from the text and annotating the story with insights about translation, the letterpress printing of the book and accounts of the project’s history, which he is currently exploring through the creation of a multi-volume graphic novel. The readings begin with a casual discussion of letterpress and the sorting of lead type used in the printing process and concludes with the ceremonial melting of this monotype, resulting in a unique form. Many of these readings are accompanied by themed meals.
Jimmy is part of the 2017 Tidelines Journey.
“I have recently been working on a body of art and curatorial projects that deal with the notion of memory as landscape. In my research one of the most influential text thus far has been Marc Augé’s “Oblivion”. In it he considers the role that forgetting (or not committing to memory in the first place) plays in memory. At one point he compares the way a coastline is determined by both land and water, and how memory is equally what we remember and what we forget. If we are simultaneously living a narrative as we write it, what we chose to include and what we choose to leave out is of the greatest importance.”