BELLY ACHE

STATEMENT
Our work explores the book as a living form – an anatomical structure that invites the viewer in rather than presenting a surface to be observed from a distance. Through modular constructions and layered materials such as paper, vellum, resin, acetate, wood, and metal, we create sculptural books that feel both architectural and organic, echoing the internal landscape of the body. The pages metabolize various forms: anatomical yet unrecognizable, abstracted into familiar forms that evade classification. The interplay of transparency and opacity allows the viewer to look into the work rather than merely at it, emphasizing depth, fluidity, and intimacy.

We are interested in how touch, structure, and transformation coalesce in the experience of book arts. Our pieces ask to be handled and entered, rather than passively consumed, drawing attention to the body of the viewer as much as the body of the book. The modularity of the works introduces a sense of changeability beneath surfaces that might initially seem visually dense or fixed. In this way, each book becomes a physicalized threshold: a place where the anatomy of language and the language of anatomy are fused into something hybrid, sensorial, and alive.

BIOGRAPHY
BELLY ACHE is a collaborative project between Gabby Lee and Ryan Faherty. BELLY ACHE produces books derived from their mixed media and sculptural practice. Experimentation is pivotal to the start of each book, using original collage material to inform colors and shapes while using a range of paper types to construct each layer. BELLY ACHE aims to create books that illustrate the iterative nature of the process.

BELLY ACHE’S Website