Ghosts
Ghosts of Gunkanjima
May 2006
Gunkanjima, or Battleship Island, is a tiny island in Nagasaki Prefecture on which coal was discovered in 1810. A boom followed, and the island was heavily populated and owned from seabed to rooftop by the Mitsubishi Corporation. At one point it was the single most densely populated area on the planet, before or since. Everything was imported to the island, including building materials — not even a blade of grass grew there.
It is said that the wind there always tastes like metal.
A tale of wind and metal by Catherynne M. Valente. This handbound book measures 2.5" high by 2" wide, is perfect-bound with a Japanese paper cover and black satin spine. The book is overlaid with stained metal, below which rests the skeleton of a leaf. Because of the nature of the materials used in this creation, no two books are exactly the same.
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