The Midnight Peach began as a single-page comic, first published in Piecework Anthology from Sister Sister Books in 2015.
The second stage of this project was a handmade companion book titled Prayers and Conversations for the Midnight Peach. It is an exploration of the liminal space between waking and sleep, centered on a girl and a spider who observes her. Included are three types of paper I made by hand for the book; the endpapers are grey silk made from a nightgown, the flyleaf is a blend of linen and abaca, and the title page is made from cotton bedsheets.
The book includes eight linocut illustrations and hand-set lead type, as well as text printed from photopolymer plates. The binding is a link stitch, hard bound with cotton bookcloth and a foil-stamped front cover. The edition size is 16 (2016).
The final stage of this project was the performance/installation Now Lie in It, created over two days living inside A.P.E. Gallery in Northampton MA, photocopying and collaging bedding onto the wall and sleeping. I performed this piece as both the girl (the witnessed) and the spider (the witness, the webmaker).
© Sally Clegg 2024