Ghosts in the machine

STEIDL-WERK No.31: GHOSTS IN THE MACHINE is Theseus Chan and Gerhard Steidls latest adventure in redefining what constitutes a book. The normal starting-point for any book is blank sheets of paper, yet for STEIDL-WERK No.31 that is not the case. Instead, Chan and Steidl have taken already printed make-ready sheets from a recent Steidl bookthe sheets produced on press while the printing plates build up the right levels of ink to deliver optimal results. Each make-ready sheet shows a different collection of inks and they are normally discarded; here they are the very heart of the book. On top of these sheets (fed into the press in a random order) is printed a new series of Chans ink drawingsshifting, bleeding, abstract forms or ghosts, which interact with the underlying images and texts in unpredictable ways. The result is an experiment with technical and optical accidents; each book in the edition, like Chans drawings, is unique. Presented in a cardboard box with ten posters, ten postcards and a zine, as well as a copy of Steidl Magazine No.7 edited by Chan, STEIDL-WERK No.31 is a treasure trove of offset innovation. Limited edition of 500