E99 - Second Take: Kieron Anthony Lewis, "A Book Inside Concrete"

Kieron Anthony Lewis opens this one by saying he cannot do the project justice by describing it. That you almost have to see it.

He is right, which is awkward for a podcast. So here it is: a 456-page hardback with gold foiling along the edges, sealed inside a case made of concrete, cast in the shape of Tafawa Balewa Square in Lagos. Around seven kilos all in.

The book features 161 artists connected to that square, produced in connection with the Lagos Biennial and timed to Nigeria's 65th independence anniversary. The brief, as he first understood it, was that they were going to make a coffee table book.

He designed it over roughly two years in London, with London printers. The concrete case was made by the team in Lagos. Which means the first time he saw the two together was when he arrived in Nigeria, almost nervous, thinking — can you imagine if it doesn't fit?

This is Second Take, a short format on the show. One idea, one guest, lifted out of a longer conversation. You do not need to have heard the original.

Full conversation with Kieron: https://creativefigures.fm/s02-e12-kieron-anthony-lewis-on-editorial-design-identity-and-finding-meaning-through-work/

Find Kieron here: https://kieronlewis.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kieronanthonyl/

Find me here: https://creativefigures.fm

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/creativefigures.fm/

Video version includes footage courtesy of Lagos Biennial https://lagos-biennial.org/ and Kieron Anthony Lewis https://kieronlewis.com/