Aurora De Armendi

b. Havana, Cuba
Lives and works in New York

Portfolio – Artist Books

To learn more about these projects please visit:
www.auroradearmendi.com
Libro de las Preguntas, Yon Ti Liv Kesyon, A Book of Questions

In the early 1990’s, Haitian and Cuban refugees were detained in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba under the supervision of
the American military. A Book of Questions, is comprised of queries directed toward three groups of people
(Haitian detainees, Cuban detainees and GTMO employees, including soldiers, physicians and social workers)
whose paths intersected during a specific moment in GTMO’s history. It is a gesture of memory and
reconciliation, to remember together. The questions were written in Spanish by Aurora de Armendi and
translated into Haitian Creole and English.
 
____________
Medium: This hand-sewn artist’s book, inspired in part by Pablo Neruda’s El libro de las preguntas, was letterpress
printed on Zerkall book paper from polymer plates made by Boxcar press. The yellow, blue, and rust colored texts
silkscreened onto dyed paper were appropriated from poems XI, XXI, and XXIII in Neruda’s book. Cave
Handmade paper was used for the cover. The book was sewn on tapes. Tapes were constructed using military
uniform from the 1990’s. The book comes with a hand made slipcase.
Dimensions: 7 1/4 x 11 7/16 x 1 inches
Edition: 10
Year: 2014 – 2015

Public Collections:
The University of Iowa Libraries, Iowa City, IA
The Human Rights Archive, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University Libraries

Private Collections:
Rafael. A. De Armendi & Elida De Armendi, Miami, Florida
 Haitian Refugee Camps, GTMO, 1991
Cuban Refugees with American soldier, McCalla 3 Camp, GTMO, 1995 Courtesy of Steve Brown and The Guatánamo Public Memory Project
Courtesy of José Oscar Marrero

Three Taíno Myths

Three Taíno Myths was designed and printed by the artist at The Center for Book Arts in New York during
her 2013 Scholars for Advanced Study in Book Arts Residency. The text was excerpted from Fray Ramón
Pané An Account of the Antiquities of the Indians. Edited by Juan José Arróm and translated by Susan C.
Griswold. Durham and London Duke University Press, 1999

____________
Medium: This hand-sewn five-hole pamphlet was hand letterpress printed on Somerset Book Soft White text
weight paper using 12-point Bembo, 10-point Stymie Med. Italic and 30-36 point Spartan Black Type.
Dimensions: Closed Book: 6 3/4 x 10 1/8 x 1/8 inches, Open Book: 13 1/2 x 10 1/8 inches
Edition: 15
Year: 2013

Public Collections:
The Center for Book Arts Archive, New York, NY

Private Collections:
Roni Gross, NY
Alva Mooses, NY
Sarah Nicholls, NY
Alvaro Lazo, NY
Constanza Alarcón Tennen, Santiago, Chile
Alex Campos, NY