Recommended Reading
Limited Edition Print of 50
16" x 20" / 40.64 x 50.8 cm unframed
Giclée print on paper
Signed and numbered by the artist
Limited Edition Print of 25
24" x 30" / 60.96 x 76.2 cm unframed
Giclée print on paper
Signed and numbered by the artist
About The Piece
Titled “Recommended Reading” featuring 50 titles of currently banned, challenged or removed books across libraries and educational settings in the USA and UK. Having been fixated by the atrocious literary censorship across the USA, I was ignorantly horrified by the spread of this embargo to the UK. In March 2026, a removal of 130-200 books from a school library in Salford with the material being deemed “inappropriate” led to the school librarian's resignation following a safeguarding dispute.
The act of assembling in a formation mimicking a bookshelf, instead of a pile read on the floor highlights the potential of unread novels. Encouraging to scan the shelf as you would do trying to identify a title you resonate with. The purpose of this selection is to mix books from popular culture, ones from your schooling to adolescence favourites. Finding books you recognise to be told these are now restricted.
This piece works off the dissent of educational institutions. How the mere act of reading and recommending has been censored by the state is dissension. Inquiring and expression through reading has become rebellious and challenging.
Books are warnings, perspectives and blissful escapism that should not be edited, restricted or curated to suit a mono-narrative. An accelerating dissension.
The beauty of literature is the multitude of genres, themes and plots. The importance of literature in formative critical thinking years is the exposure to different walks of life, difference of opinion, and integrity of information. If we cannot learn in an environment that encourages diverse perspectives in a safe manner, we create a perfect breeding ground for seeking out information in unreliable, inappropriate and blinkered methods.