Project Website: https://joshuawatsonsleg.com/
Joshua Watson’s Leg (In Four Movements) is a three-channel video installation accompanied by an assortment of pseudo-historical objects and a handbound sculptural book (w/ embedded digital screen). The project is based off of an authentic 18th century handwritten note that was found in a bin of scrap paper at a traditional bookbindery in 2015.
The artwork is intended to be shown as a large-scale exhibition with faux artifacts. Viewers will recognize the items within the three-channel video as the additional components in the exhibition. By incorporating antiquated objects and relics from the video, and presenting them in a museum-like manner, the aim is to challenge the audience’s perception of history and what can be percieved as fact, versus the illusary narrative produced by the artist.
Please see the project website for a more detailed description of the artwork.
The artwork is intended to be shown as a large-scale exhibition with faux artifacts. Viewers will recognize the items within the three-channel video as the additional components in the exhibition. By incorporating antiquated objects and relics from the video, and presenting them in a museum-like manner, the aim is to challenge the audience’s perception of history and what can be percieved as fact, versus the illusary narrative produced by the artist.
Please see the project website for a more detailed description of the artwork.
Joshua Watson’s Leg (In Four Movements), 2021
Three-channel HD Video | 23’45”
(In Four-Part Symphonic Form)
Bruce Stens as Joshua Watson
Richard Smart as Henry Newburn
Sherry Duggal as Malin Sorsbie
Structured as a four-part symphony, Joshua Watson’s Leg (In Four Movements), follows the pseudo-historical account of a grave accident resulting in the eventual anthropodermic binding of a disturbing “coroner’s report”. Bookbinder, Henry Newburn, comes across the body of Joshua Watson in the woods. Keeping time, Newburn drags the corpse back to his nearby workshop.
Bindery apprentice, Malin Sorsbie, prepares the body for the tanning process, while subtly tucking away a fractured shard of bone in her apron. As Henry methodically binds a leather book out of Joshua Watson’s skin, a process known as anthropodermic bibliopegy, Malin practices her calligraphy skills on scraps of paper.
Bindery apprentice, Malin Sorsbie, prepares the body for the tanning process, while subtly tucking away a fractured shard of bone in her apron. As Henry methodically binds a leather book out of Joshua Watson’s skin, a process known as anthropodermic bibliopegy, Malin practices her calligraphy skills on scraps of paper.
Three-Channel Video Installation Mock-Up
Narrative Synopsis (Broken Down by Movement)
I. The Accident | Allegro - 120 BPM | Sonata Form
Joshua Watson’s leg had been badly broken in the accident. A sharp bone pierced his skin, and he bled out over the course of many hours...
Woodland tracker and bookbinder, Henry Newburn, comes across Joshua’s body at the bottom of a ravine. A workable leather specimen, the craftsman carefully procures his find, dragging the cadaver through the brush to his nearby workshop.
*BPM = Beats per Minute
II. The Resurrection | Adagio - 66 BPM | Slowly, with Great Expression
Upon arrival, the awaiting apprentice, Malin Sorsbie, patiently assists Newburn in preparing the corpse for the tanning process. Malin nurtures Joshua Watson’s remains, delicately washing his lifeless body.
III. The Undertaker’s Minuet | Andante - 88 BPM | Three-Quarter Time
The dance begins in a damp, candlelit workshop. Henry Newburn strikes a match, illuminating his face as he stokes his pipe. The dried tobacco leaves gently crackle into frail embers. The air is rancid and sweet, as thick drags of dry smoke mingle with humidity.
IV. Joshua’s Requiem | Varying Tempos| Sonata Rondo Form (Finale)
Henry’s hands are fermenting. He waits for his partner, Joshua, whose skin is taut on a frame. Rising from his arthritic chair, he tends to his companion with earnest measurement. The wet coolness has left the hide. Placing the leather on a thick paring stone, Henry strops his knife and pushes his weight into the hide. Thin slivers of velvety suede fall to the side of the stone, as Henry brushes them away and diligently works the skin into a delicate tissue, so thin that you can almost see through it.
... Malin and Joshua join in the rollicking finale of Joshua Watson’s Leg.
The Account of Joshua Watson
Clay Death Mask, Handbound Sculptural Book
w/ Inlaid Teeth & Digital Video Screen
Collection of Pseudo-Historical Objects
Above: Shankbone of Joshua Watson, Henry Newburn’s Glasses & Pipe, Joshua Watson’s Death Mask, Anthropodermic Handbound Book w/ Teeth Inlays, Malin Sorsbie’s Apprentice Folio, Joshua Watson’s pocket Diary, Two-headed Taxidermied Rat
Above: Handwritten Note by Malin Sorsbie (1773);
Uncovered in a bin of scrap paper at Old English Bindery in 2015
“This was Wrote on Sunday 24th January 1773 by Malin Sorsbie,
with a Bone which was taken out of Joshua Watsons Leg the Same Day, by Henry Newburn”
