Hybrid Land is a limited edition artist book that revolves around ecological themes, bringing into question our culture’s manipulation of crops and our interaction with the environment. The book is image-based, utilizing the effects of transparent inks through a collage-like layering of woodcuts, collagraph blocks, and pressure printing techniques. The imagery is based on plant forms including genetically modified crops such as soy and corn. With vibrant colors and imagery reflecting the beauty in nature, the interwoven text by poets Joel Brouwer and Shin Yu Pai expresses the darker implications crop modification has in our lives. Brouwer’s text, which includes excerpts from Thoreau’s ‘Bean Field’ chapter in Walden, is printed on a series of foldout pages. With reference to classical mythology and TV reality, this text is about the separation between ourselves and nature, a loss of cultural knowledge and history. Pai’s text is interwoven throughout the book, acting as the final collage layer on top of plant imagery. Drawing a palpable connection between food and memory, Pai’s text asks us to recall food from the market and from our memories.

All materials used in this book are recycled or come from rapidly renewable resources. The binding is non-adhesive. 
Letterpress: collagraph blocks (4), woodcuts (18), pressure printing, photopolymer, and wood type.