'Rootlines' / ARTIST's BOOK / Aga Kubish / 2025
One-of-a-kind artist’s book
Rootlines is a unique, handmade artist’s book — a three-metre-long visual journey unfolding in a traditional Japanese concertina (accordion) structure. It is both a narrative and a reflection, combining intuitive mark-making, mixed media layering, and botanical symbolism.
The interior pages merge linocut prints, freehand ink drawing, and watercolour painting, all on high-quality Somerset Satin 300gsm paper. Each element was composed in flow — without prior planning — allowing the subconscious to guide the creation. The book is hand-bound in a custom hardcover featuring a hand-printed linocut cover and hand-painted acrylic wash in sepia tones.
Specifications:
• Format: Japanese concertina fold
• Dimensions: 27 × 15 cm (closed) / approx. 3 m long (fully opened)
• Materials: Somerset Satin 300gsm, linocut print, archival waterproof ink, watercolour, acrylic ink
• Cover: hand-bound, hand-printed linocut and acrylic wash
• Year: 2025
• Edition: 1/1, signed by Aga Kubish
• Format: Japanese concertina fold
• Dimensions: 27 × 15 cm (closed) / approx. 3 m long (fully opened)
• Materials: Somerset Satin 300gsm, linocut print, archival waterproof ink, watercolour, acrylic ink
• Cover: hand-bound, hand-printed linocut and acrylic wash
• Year: 2025
• Edition: 1/1, signed by Aga Kubish
Inspiration & Context:
Rootlines draws inspiration from the tradition of artist’s books as conceptual objects — rooted in the legacy of William Blake, Ed Ruscha, and Dieter Roth — yet deeply personal in its execution. The visual language evokes echoes of botanical studies, scientific notebooks, and the meticulous engraving aesthetics of Albrecht Dürer and Katsushika Hokusai.
Rootlines draws inspiration from the tradition of artist’s books as conceptual objects — rooted in the legacy of William Blake, Ed Ruscha, and Dieter Roth — yet deeply personal in its execution. The visual language evokes echoes of botanical studies, scientific notebooks, and the meticulous engraving aesthetics of Albrecht Dürer and Katsushika Hokusai.
The work reflects an intimate dialogue between nature and intuition — an emotional cartography of lines, roots, and inner movements. Rootlines invites the viewer not to read, but to experience; not to interpret, but to sense.
Rootlines（ルートラインズ）
感情と直感から生まれた、一点もののアーティスト・ブック。
植物の根のように流れる線が、内面の旅とつながりを描き出す。
リノカット、手描きのインク、ウォーターカラー、すべてが手作業で綴られ、3メートルの物語が静かに広がる。
感情と直感から生まれた、一点もののアーティスト・ブック。
植物の根のように流れる線が、内面の旅とつながりを描き出す。
リノカット、手描きのインク、ウォーターカラー、すべてが手作業で綴られ、3メートルの物語が静かに広がる。
