ULINE Bible
This piece is constructed in a manner most closely resembling 16th century German Gothic books
The artistic intent of this project was deeply personal. The disturbing nature of Uline's political actions holds material repercussions for the LGBTQ+ community
but this brand remains a standard today in many companies. In this project, the Uline Catalog was chosen as a cultural artifact to preserve, and the resemblance of
this binding style to many early Bibles is purposeful. Bound in both extravagant and industrial materials, the cover is embossed with Uline insignia. The catalog
becomes something precious, delicate, and somewhat queer.
To express my personal connection to the brand, I chose gay pornography to be mixed in with the rebinding of the book. As one flips through the Uline Bible,
views of industrial clothing are seen next to graphic sexual imagery, shocking the viewer and contextualizing Uline's actions. In some ways, the pornography is
also elevated to the level of a professional product or publication while Uline imagery becomes background noise. The book is chained and bound together to
duplicate a chained library, inferring the rigorous study of these catalogs in a religious setting. The oak lectern is etched with Lavender Arrest records translated to Latin.
This work is not meant to provoke. It is my attempt at binding together two worlds I am inextricably linked to. I have deep sadness that these worlds are incompatible.
I had a love for Uline products due to their wide and arguably well-designed catalog, but learning about their harm became another reminder of the cold reception to
LGBTQ+ people within industrial settings. This project embraces the fullest extent of the gay experience within the context of industry and hopefully provides a
bridge between these two worlds.
year: 2021
media: plywood, cotton string, steel buckles, sheepskin, regular steel chain,
thermally modified oak with laser etching, Elmer's glue, resin, pen, Uline Catalog, gay pornography magazines (Bear No. 28 and Blueboy 1976 VI)
