These Fragments We Have Shored Against Our Ruins: Neckinger

Both books center around a stream of words that describe first the rising of the tide, which Mary calls the male half, and then the going of the tide, which Mary calls the female half. Various texts accompany the words, including quotes by Heraclitus as well as the artist’s rendition of Inana’s descent to hell, which mirrors the cloth’s descent into the Neckinger.

In the larger book, notes of Mary’s experiences at the river each day, and historical findings are sandwiched between the poetic movements, printed on thin, fragile newsprint paper.

The large book is one of a series of 14, originally displayed alongside the river dipped cloths in the otherwise empty warehouse space at Trinity Bouy Wharf in 1992.  Made over 2 weeks, they were an early project begun shortly before Mary started immersing the cloths in the river. The heavy screen-printed pages are glued together using rice paper, and the book is hand-bound using flat rope.

The small book is part of a series of replicas of the larger books, made by Mary as distributable objects. They consist of photocopied texts taken from the large book, with recycled cardboard covers, and are hand sewn.  The content varies somewhat from the larger books though, and the river map in the small book is not contained in the large version.

As the larger book is too fragile for general handling, Mary will open the book at a special session on Wednesday 2nd December 2026, 6.30-7.30pm, sharing its content along with listening to water music and sounds related to the river project.