One evening I was talking with a friend about personal mythology - that internal world of characters and events that constantly runs inside us like a movie. Our conversation drifted towards ways and means of expressing that inner arena and, naturally enough, I found myself thinking about Griffin and Sabine.

Initially, I had many reasons for telling their tale: to express my ideas around the balance between love and fear, male and female, body and mind, and, for that matter, word and image. Yet while I was working on those first three books, I noticed that they steadily took on a life of their own - a pattern of cause and effect. Not only did the characters seem to be determining their destiny but events within the story started to spill over into my own life. Surprisingly these "outcomings" weren't disturbing; in fact they felt quite natural. It was as if the "extra" in extraordinary was inevitable. What I wasn't prepared for, however, was the degree to which sharing Griffin and Sabine would leave me feeling like my children had left home - or the resonance such an intimate exposition would have with so many others. For your camaraderie, I thank you.

In the ten years since the first book was published, numerous experiences and insights that have thrown new light on the lives of Griffin Moss and Sabine Strohem. And in order to gain a deeper understanding of their relationship and landscape, I decided to make a few notes. I have to admit that I was completely unprepared for what was to happen next. Within half an hour of beginning to jot down my thoughts, I realized that I was not making notes. I wasn't analyzing at all. I was writing. I was picking up where I'd left off and was, to my amazement, creating a whole new work.

I'd felt so sure that the story of Griffin and Sabine was finished. But I was very wrong, because the words and images came tumbling out of me at a rate I could barely keep up with. And seven months later I completed the text and art for The Gryphon, part one of the Morning Star Trilogy. I missed Christmas, the Millennium celebrations, spring, and half of summer. But that, in truth, was a small price to pay compared with the pleasure of reuniting with Griffin and Sabine.

With gratitude, Nick Bantock

  

Griffin and Sabine
Chronicle Books, 1991
This is the book that started the Nick Bantock obsession. The story is told through the strange and intriguing correspondence of Griffin and Sabine. Since each letter must be pulled from its own envelope, the reader has the delightful, forbidden sensation of reading someone else's mail. Griffin and Sabine is like no other illustrated novel, appealing to the poet and artist in everyone. More....

To see the complete catalog of Nick Bantock's works, visit his Other Titles. 

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Book to digital interactive art installations

Published on 13 June 2024

These days, interactive art encompasses a wider range of digital media. Immersion experiences have become much more possible because to virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR). Audiences may now engage with artworks in ways that were unthinkable before thanks to online galleries and digital exhibits.

Interactive art concepts are clear even in more contentious domains like adult webcams and free live sex sites. These sites show how digital technology may enable close-knit and customised interactions, pushing the envelope of user involvement in new directions. Though controversial, these instances demonstrate the breadth and adaptability of interactive art in the digital world.

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