Lenka Clayton | 63 Objects Taken From My Son's Mouth

Lenka Clayton

63 Objects Taken From My Son's Mouth

Pittsburgh, USA: Self-published, 2014

66 pp., 5.75 x 4.25", softcover

Edition of 250 signed and numbered copies

One of my favourite museum displays ever was venue in Philadelphia that presented open drawers of collections from various professions. The one that most got under my skin was a collection of things that a dentist had removed from the throats of his patients. Each one seemed to urgently prompt the question of how it got there and what kind of damage it did. A rusty fishhook was particularly visceral. 

In this now out-of-print volume, Pittsburgh artist Lenka Clayton personalizes the premise with a collection of items removed from her infant son's mouth. Small rocks, coins, a bulldog clip, a sponge animal, a transit transfer, an acorn and cigarette butt are amongst the items that have been photographed by Tom Little and reproduced size-as. 

“The collection indirectly documents those months of our lives,” Lenka says, of the time between her child's eighth and fifteenth month. 

The work was first exhibited at the at Pittsburgh Center for the Arts in 2013. This limited edition volume was designed by MASS MoCA's Director of Design; Brett Yasko. Each book is hand-numbered and signed, with a unique letterpress vintage construction paper cover designed to gently fade with time.