Desolate Press ~ California
(Ayin Es)

Ayin Es, statement: “My name is Ayin Es. I recently changed it from Carol Es. I grew up in Los Angeles, the greatest city in the world. I am an artist with physical and mental disabilities, and a rape survivor. I identify as transqueer, or a non-binary person. But none of those things define every dimension of who I am.

“I exist to create. Maybe that sounds like an artist's cliché, but since I can remember, I have had the intense drive to make things: Artist's books, music, paintings, you name it. I wrote stories and poetry before I knew what it was or even meant. I fashioned my first book of words and illustrations at five or six and hardly remembered doing it. No one in my family was an artist, and I can't tell you where any of this inspiration came from.”

Outlander
By Ayin Es
Los Angeles: Desolate Press, 2021. Edition of 5.

Housed in recycled cigar box 6.25 x 8.25 x 2.25” with cloth tab and a block print label. Laid in “Outlander” book with hand-carved bow drill kit for making a fire, a military-style compass, and a stocked mini first aid kit. Book of 36 pages handbound with pamphlet stitch. Papers include Strathmore, Moab Legion, Arches, Rives BFK, and other imported papers. 100lb cardstock cover. Signed and numbered by the artist.

Ayin Es: "’Outlander’ is an Artist's book with a theme about walking about or hiking, perhaps getting lost in the wilderness, or maybe even in ones mind. Going on an excursion can be both confusing and eye-opening. One may need certain survival skills to navigate their way. And if given the right tools and opportunity to open themselves to explore the land, a person can realize more than they may ever know. However, this is art, and art shouldn't always make complete sense. Interpret it as you wish.

“Outlander’ has an embroidered cover and little black, hand-cut feet along the bottom of the book. It's basically about hiking, the great outdoors, and suggests the idea of getting lost somewhere out in the wilderness. The interior pages include a few reproductions, original watercolors, lino block prints, photographs, handwritten pages, and original drawings too - both in graphite and pen. There is also an original 13 x 14-inch hand-drawn fold-out map made with graphite, pen, and colored pencil on both the front and back sides.”
$1,400 (Last Copy)