Un-unlisted Artist's Book by Wendy Fernstrum

This piece was featured in the February 2024 issue of The Fore Edge, a quarterly newsletter from MCBA that highlights new artist’s books and zines for collections, universities, and libraries. If you are interested in receiving this newsletter, there is a sign up available here. Past featured pieces can be viewed here.

“‘Un-unlisted’ takes the form of a phone book. It lists the names of those who died while homeless in Minnesota in 2021. I’ve added each name to the phone book page where the name would have been listed, alphabetically. In this version of the phone book, the names of the homeless appear large and bold, with all other names faded in the background. Thus, in this phone book, the lives of the individuals who died while homeless in Minnesota in 2021 are acknowledged.

To create this artist book, I scanned the pages from a Minnesota phone book on which each homeless person would have been listed if they’d had a home address. I tinted the scanned page and then added each name of the individual who died while homeless in Minnesota in 2021, plus the location where they died, if known.

Names listed in the book are from the program distributed during the Minnesota Homeless March and Service in December 2021 in Minneapolis. Deep appreciation for those who reported and compiled the names, particularly Simpson Housing Services, who also organizes the homeless march and service each year.” - Wendy Fernstrum

10.5” x 8.5” x 0.25”

*Consignment item. Not eligible for 10% membership discount. All consignment purchases are final and non-refundable once shipped.