Firesafe

Photobook

Firesafe is a photobook created by Blake Greene about time, family dynamics, trauma, nostalgia, and advancement in the face of loss. The book follows a linear narrative and is meant to be read like a novel. The book is housed in a distressed cast iron book sleeve. The sleeve was designed by the author and created at the Cumberland Foundry in Cumberland, RI. The book utilizes photographs from public internet archives as well as images made by the author. This book was hand perfect-bound by the author in Providence, RI.

The story follows a loose narrative of a young girls journey growing up. Her family photographs are juxtaposed with photographs of objects that have been recovered from a house fire, as well as photographs from the Antares failed shuttle launch. The story illustrates the power physical objects have in our lives and how the loss of nostalgic objects can impact our emotions. A melancholic tone prevails over the story as the presence of the cosmos shifts in and out of the young woman's life, but the story never becomes fatalistic; an abundance of life pours from the young woman's family archive. The book ends where it starts, on a mysterious photo of a young boy blowing dandelion spores out over a field.

Process and Construction

Book Binding and Iron Casting

The book sleeve was cast out of iron and machined on a Bridgeport mill. The pattern board I created utilizes a core and core box for the desired hollow slip. The machining process takes about 2 hours per cast sleeve. The sleeve was then distressed using water and a blow torch. The book was perfect bound with five signatures and printed on Classic Crest Avon Brilliant White 15.74 M. Five copies were produced. The cast iron sleeve lends itself to the themes of the novel, addressing time, family heirloom, creation and destruction by fire, blood, and metaphorical weight.