Catalogue: Jeremy Deller: All That Is Solid Melts Into Air

The pleasure and challenge of creating All That Is Solid Melts Into Air was that it was a completely new form of publication for Hayward Publishing: somewhere between an exhibition catalogue, a social history of the industrial revolution and an artist’s book.

Using images selected for the Hayward Touring exhibition of the same name, Deller created a fluid reflection on the relationship between Britain’s industrial past and its modern identity, drawing together what would become the major thematic strands of the exhibition.

The apparently freeform nature of the placement of images and text was in fact the result of months spent fashioning exactly the right mix of image, historical detail and personal reflection. We were constantly trying to marry research and historical accuracy, while retaining the artist’s unique narrative voice.

Co-operation

The distinctive nature of the book’s form was the result of the openness of everyone involved, from the publishing team and curators at the Hayward, to the designers and Deller himself.

The original concept was a standard small catalogue containing the images that Deller had curated for the exhibition alongside an essay written by Roger Malbert.

In one of our initial design meetings, however, the designers – A Practice for Everyday Life – presented an idea that included a single spread mixing dummy text with images. The inspiration had been John Berger’s iconic Ways of Seeing and its innovative approach to image and text.

The concept immediately put paid to the original brief. Despite the increase in workload (not least for the artist), we were all suddenly enthused about the idea of creating a unique visual essay, annotated in the artist’s distinctive voice.

With the text and images beginning on the front cover and ending on the back, the book would reflect the passage of its creation, becoming, from cover to cover, a personal journey of discovery through the industrial revolution, led by Deller.

Challenges

The major challenge for the publishing team in developing a book such as All That Is Solid Melts Into Air was allowing the artist to create something as free as the final book, within the budgetary and time constraints of the publishing process.

We began by rigidly defining the page length and amount of pictures in advance of the production of the text and image selection. Being restrictive about these elements gave Deller and the designers a framework to work within.

The same went for the timescale and schedule for producing the text. The final restriction was inevitably the print deadline – Deller was still making tweaks as we wrestled it out of his hands to get it on press.

The result is a really thrilling publication that displays a very rare quality in art publishing: a book that is as interesting to read as it is to look at.

Ben Fergusson is the art publisher at Hayward Publishing