David Bellingham lives and works in Glasgow. He is an artist who works in a number of different fields including drawing and painting, artist’s books, photography, film, installation and sound art. Much of his output is textual in form – early works being visual and concrete poetry but later introducing aspects of conceptual art.
Having worked early in his career with Ian Hamilton Finlay, David Harding, Pavel Buchler, Thomas Joshua Cooper and Rodger Palmer – Bellingham has created a wide range of works alongside the creation of a publishing house in WAX366 (named after the registration of his beloved car).
This archive of books, cards, editions and original works has been created by Paul Robertson since first meeting Bellingham in 2000. Robertson and Bellingham have worked together on a number of exhibitions and project including the highly significant TURNOUT project where Bellingham re-wrote the entire vote of the first ever Scottish Parliament election – a phenomenal effort on the part of the artist who had to draw over 2 million Xs to complete the project in Robertson’s Heart Gallery in Edinburgh in 2005.
There are nearly 150 items in this collection – many of the books are unique hand made items and some of the artist’s earliest works from 1997 onwards are included in the group.
The archive may be for sale both as a collection or as individual items – please email mail@unoriginalsins.com to discuss further.
Glasgow: Wax366, 2000
14 x 10.2cm, 16pp plus printed wrappers. String bound. Artist's book with a number of concrete poems made up from the mixed up letters of well known biscuit types such as Garibaldi, Rich Tea, Digestive, Custard Cream, Bourbon, Malted Milk and Ginger Nut. Of course biscuits are known to break up into small pieces. Small limitation. This example is signed by the artist on the last page. VG+.
Glasgow: Wax366, 1999
10 x 4cm, 16pp plus printed covers. Artist's book which reproduces eight line drawings of sycamore smara (the lobed seeds of the tree which fall to the ground in a spiral manner). A visual poem by the Scottish artist. This copy is signed in pencil on the last blank page. VG+.
Dundee: Centre for Artist's Books, 1999
21 x 15cm, 12 pp plus card covers. Exhibition catalogue and cataloguer raisonne of sorts - the essay by Gilonis is a list of 100 works (postcards and other items) by Bellingham with short descriptions. Issued for an exhibition of Bellingham's artist's books and publications. VG+. Scarce early publication.
Glasgow: WAX336, 1999
10.4 x 14cm, 2pp. Artist's card noting that at the change from the Julian Calendar to the Gregorian Calendar in 1582, the fact that the former calendar was created at a time when the concept of zero "was not known" (or rather not used mathematically). Bellingham's suggestion is to restore the year 0 by adding an additional year to any current date. VG+.
Glasgow: Wax (Bellingham), 2000
Two separate printed sheets - each 32 x 22.4cm in plastic transparent pouch. The first sheet being the title and the second a painting; an abstract pattern made from using the entire content of ink from a single 'Bic' biro and spreading it on the sheet (a 'Bic' biro is a cheap ink pen used most often in offices). There were 30 each of four different colours each unique within the total edition of 120. Fine.
Glasgow: Wax (Bellingham), 2000
Two separate printed sheets - each 32 x 22.4cm in plastic transparent pouch. The first sheet being the title and the second a painting; an abstract pattern made from using the entire content of ink from a single 'Bic' biro and spreading it on the sheet (a 'Bic' biro is a cheap ink pen used most often in offices). There were 30 each of four different colours each unique within the total edition of 120. Fine.
Glasgow: WAX336, 2000
9 x 15cm, 4pp. Artist's card which alternates lower case "i"s in the fonts Johnston and Gill Sans on the front in white and blue. The shape of the dot over each eye differs between fonts: one is rounded and the other a diamond shape. Edward Johnston designed his font for the London Transport network in 1915, and Eric Gill designed his font around 1927.
The poem inside the card reads:
Johston's diamonds
Gill's pearls
Early concrete poem card by Bellingham. VG+.
Glasgow: Wax366, 2000
14.5 x 9cm, 800 plus silver paper wrappers. Artist's book - all the pages are blank apart from the centre page which has the text "ripples in the gutter" in silver ink. A visual poem. Staples very slightly rusted else VG. Limitation not known but not many.
Glasgow: WAX366, 2000
43 x 19cm, plastic folder content of a portfolio of five prints (all 42 x 18.5cm) and a cover sheet on card - the five AEIOU charts are derived from Kandolt Ring and Snellen Illiterate E optometry charts. One of 100 signed and numbered examples. VG+.
Glasgow: WAX366, 2003 13 x 29.5cm, 2pp offset green on white lithographic print with ten green drawings of the outlines of leaves. The leaves were all "selected from, the terraced olive groves which surround Partigliano in Tuscana. Signed on the back by Bellingham in pencil. Limitation unknown. VG+.
Glasgow: Wax366, n.d.
10 14.5cm, 2pp artist postcard with a text on both sides:
the card: a form of two pages
the folding card: a form of four pages
the print/poster: a form of one page
the book: a community of pages
The text is repeated on both sides of the card - one side is glossy, the other matt. VG+.
Edinburgh: Morning Star, 2001 16.5 x 9cm, 2pp printed pocket folder (with adhesive back) content of five, 14 x 6cm, 2pp bookmarks designed by Telfor Stokes, David Bellingham, Alex Finlay with Hans Waanders, David COnnearn and Thomas A. Clark. Object multiple issued on the occasion of the Bookshelves initiative. All VG in similar folder. Limitation not known.
Nurnberg: Kunsthaus, 2001 21.5 x 14cm, 112pp plus card covers. Artist's book issued during an exhibition with two essays by Harry Gilionis and Pavel Buchler. Colour and b/w images of works throughout. This copy is signed in pencil on the half-title by Bellingham.
