Bound Liberty is a unique artist’s book that evolved from a series of studies for a large-scale drawing installation created in the artist’s squatted studio in 1980s London. The original work was conceived as a constructivist cityscape, designed to convey a sense of rapid, dynamic movement that animated the spaces between shape and form. To subvert the often-controlled nature of formal drawing, the artist utilised a palette of charcoal, house paint, and pencil, favouring explorative and gestural mark-making with various improvised tools.

A year after the installation’s completion, the work was deconstructed and reconstructed into its current form. Entitled Bound Liberty, the book is housed in a bespoke black drop-back case with a vivid red lining; the title is rendered on the black cover in red using a process known as hot foil stamping.

In 2020, a text element was introduced, quoting from Start a New Life Every Morning by Ogyen Trinley Dorje. The inclusion of these Buddhist reflections on human behaviour and social order serves as a counterpoint to the turbulent, restless imagery of the 1980s wall drawing. Through this juxtaposition, the piece becomes a cross-generational dialogue, where the artist’s contemporary practice addresses and grounds the kinetic energy of her younger self.

Text

We sometimes wake up fresh in the morning yet still go through the day half asleep. Our busy 21st-century lives overwhelm us with a relentless stream of immediate tasks. We lose sight of how precious it is just to have a human life…. Conditions are constantly shifting, and what seemed impossible earlier can suddenly become possible. Throughout the day, remind yourself that your life is happening right now. Every moment counts. Every action counts. Ogyen Trinley Dorje (17th Karmapa). Excerpt from Bound Liberty

Bound Liberty was displayed in a large vitrine as part of Denise’s exhibition The War Years, 2022–Present, at the Chelsea College of Arts Library in London, marking the 4th anniversary of Russia’s brutal full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The exhibition, curated by Siobhán Britton, also contained other works by Denise in response to the war. On February 14, she covered the vitrine with a Ukrainian flag.