Title: Paradoxic mutations
First published: 1994
Description: "The structure of Paradoxic Mutations, though bound by only two staples, consists of an elaborate set of folded pages that open individually to reveal the darker side of virtues such as Unity, Joy, and Freedom. The inverse of Knowledge, for example, is Learned Ignorance. A second set of folded pages deals with the human body, infection, and the implications of technologically-driven medicine. The book is lavishly illustrated throughout with a continuous collage of found material, including anatomical engravings, medical photographs, and images of historical sculptures and other artwork from around the world, dealing mostly with science and the body. Lovejoy's work paints a gruesome but fascinating portrait of our physical relationship to a set of abstract values, commenting on the dangerous potential consequences of our attitudes regarding body and mind."

"This richly visual bookwork intersects the polarities between the past (modernist idealizations and paradoxes of truth, beauty, freedom) with the present's postmodernism hybridized climate of mutations and artificial simulations. Are the conventional intellectual and biological dimensions we have always known about to be invaded by a plague-like viral infection - to produce a novel, unpredictable species? Are we confronting a future where conditions of human origin are in danger of being replaced through technological strategies? Will we create cyborgs - half human, half machine - objects of fear because they are empty of a spiritual core, without knowledge, without wisdom and compassion? 'Paradoxic Mutations' explores the new frontiers where boundaries of the self, of memory, and of identity have been violated. A special feature of this visual book is its fold-out character, opening out layer after layer of images which can be seen as a totality. When opened, the pages reveal more visual connections to each of five themes. When the book is turned over, a new set of images are presented for opening and relating to each other."
Subjects: Medical technology, In art, Mutation (Biology) in art, Virus diseases, Pathogenic viruses, Artists' books