“…we avoid printing anything that could be regarded as offensive or indecent […] we are not willing to expose our staff to the contents of this publication.” – anonymous printing company (in response to the Dark Habits book)
When a reputable printing company in the North of England refused to print the new Dark Habits book, it made the project all the more rewarding and resonant to the themes of the exhibition which inspired its making. The irony is, the printer really missed the point. If only they understood the context of the book! Anyway, since then, a less subjective and more reliable company has been commissioned to print it.
“In 2017, we cannot believe that a printer refused to print this book, labelling it ‘obscene’. It’s ironic as the whole La Movida project was supposed to be a reminder of less progressive times and celebrating 40 years since the abolition of censorship. Decide for yourself.” – Sarah Perks (HOME Director of Visual Arts, curator and co-editor of Dark Habits)
Dark Habits takes its inspiration from the classic Pedro Almodóvar film on the occasion of the group exhibition, La Movida at HOME, Manchester (14 April – 17 July 2017). This contemporary visual art group exhibition takes the artistic and socio-cultural movement La movida (‘the movement’) of post-Franco Spain as its thematic heart. Excess, clubbing, drugs, artistic freedom, gay rights, pornography and more all collided in an outpouring of freedom from suppression and a desire for making up on lost time in early 1980s Madrid.
In this publication, 19 contributors explore freedom and indulgence, hedonism, transgression, sex and moral conventions through short stories, poetry, essay, experimental writing and flash-fiction. With superb art direction and design by Minute Works, the book is now, thankfully, published and in stock, available for you to order – hurrah!
Dark Habits is being launched at The International Anthony Burgess Foundation in Manchester on Friday 23 June (18:15 – 20:00). Tickets are free, but you need to book in advance. More details here.
We hope you find the book as provocative, uncompromising and inspiring as we do! It’s time for you to decide.