Animalia | ailibategeV

John Player Tobacco cigarette cards Dogs Heads (1929), Carreras Tobacco cigarette cards Flowers (1936), table. For Horizon at Roaming Room, London, UK, I created a series of interventions inspired by my research into alchemy and the languages and gestures of Esotericism. Animalia ailibategeV uses two editions of cigarette cards to allude to the different kingdoms of matter as described within alchemical practice. Laid in interlocking sets they are conceived to evoke references to Tarot and games of logic. The work continues my interest in collectables, highly specialised objects that hold particular value to those experienced in reading the particular worth of these items. Devised for brand promotion, cigarette cards gathered categories of information into sets available for collection and trade. Frequently designed with a printed image and a description on the reverse, they are both art objects and systems of learning, and act as a potent example of the manner by which knowledge is collected, mediated and distributed.