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Last Updated: Feb 13, 2017 - 1:45:37 AM |
Bahamian writer and book artist Sonia Farmer just released her latest piece of mastery in an art chapbook she crafted and wrote entitled “Ten Recipes for Disaster (plus VAT)”. The witty and acerbic truth of what Farmer wrote has resonated so profoundly within the community, that it has been shared over 600 times in social media in just 48 hours, with the artist receiving hundreds of requests to purchase copies.
Farmer made the book during a two-week book, paper and print crafts workshop called the Paper Book Intensive situated in Alabama. Farmer took a class called “Taking Things Out of Context” taught by book artist Sarah Smith where she used found material, DIY processes and random prompts to produce handmade book objects.
One of the prompts was to randomly choose a rubber stamp design out of a bag and create a how-to book using it. She serendipitously chose a stamp bearing the image of a blender which is seen on every spread within the book. The blender image made her think of the word “blunder” which led her to create a type of “recipe book” for disaster, specifically a number of troubling events here at home to which she has been a witness.
Farmer, who had just come off a very frustrating and stressful year of being entangled in the Baha Mar debacle, narrowed her topics down to 11 issues—or “scandals”, if you will—that dominated the headlines in 2015 and waylaid Bahamian society into a deep foreboding place of uncertainty and turmoil.
Farmer shares, “Last year offered a lot of material. When I think back on 2015—even outside of the Baha Mar experience—I just remember feeling like everything was coming apart at the seams.
“Last year cemented for me something that had been building for some time—that I have zero faith in our political leaders and I do not believe one single word they say—and this extends to each one, no matter what party.
“I sometimes wonder if I’m the only person who reads the news in horror. How can people get away with poisoning thousands of Bahamians by keeping a major gas leak under wraps? How much longer can we continue to breathe toxic smoke from our dump and pay exorbitant fees for unreliable amenities? How can we pay taxes in confidence when we don’t know where they are going? How did The Baha Mar situation get this bad? Why did one of my best childhood friends living in Long Island have to face a category four hurricane (and the recovery thereafter) alone when we are supposed to have preventative and recovery plans in place? I’m upset and perplexed all the time at the state of things, but I also feel helpless.
“I guess the book came about because I wanted to use humor to highlight these issues and break them down into parts so we can maybe start to understand how we got here and if we want to keep the same ingredients around or change our diet.”
On the Dump
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In true ‘Zine’ fashion, Farmer made the book in one day just using what was available to her, so it has a very ‘do-it-yourself’ aesthetic which is not usually her style, she admitted. After consulting with close friends whether the book was funny or terrible (the answer is both), Farmer decided to put the whole thing online for a kind of “if you don’t laugh, you’ll cry” moment.
“I never expected it to be shared over 600 times! It’s overwhelming but also very encouraging because it seems to me that maybe I am not alone in feeling so frustrated and helpless about the state of things. I suppose I can only hope that the people I’m trying to hold accountable notice too.”
Farmer will be producing copies of the book under her independent press, Poinciana Paper Press, which will be available for purchase in June.
CLICK HERE to view full book at Sonia Farmer’s Facebook page.
Bahamian Arts & Culture Facebook page
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