Depth of Surface

Utilizing their trademark strappo process – a traditional mural restoration technique – Spanish artists Patricia Gómez and María Jesús González create large-scale prints taken from the walls of abandoned buildings slated for destruction. They came to Philadelphia to make a project at Holmesburg prison, using the walls of prisoners cells and the abandoned hallways of the building as their inspiration.

The catalog we created for their work is made of different size pages that reflect the layering of paint, dirt, drawings and wallpaper on the prison walls. The light green color we chose for the text pages was inspired by the institutional dreariness of correctional facilities. The catalog is bound with a light green thread, symbolizing the fragility of the souls and bodies of those incarcerated. All told, the catalog represents a moving and thoughtful project that we're happy to be a part of.