Parallel Bars (in collaboration with Bianca Rae Messinger)

This chapbook was designed and produced by Chang Yuchen for the winner of Center for Book Arts’ 25th Anniversary Chapbook Competition Bianca Rae Messinger in 2021.

Inspired by the title Parallel Bars, and Bianca's geographical arrangement of words — sprinkled and dispersed into airy diagrams, Yuchen made a book with multiple parts, assembled with gentle gestures. A long translucent scroll wraps around itself, and in its heart, a deck of cards loosely stitched together, like a kite or a ladder — the common characteristic of these two metaphors is that their functionality relies on the space, while the structure is merely a facilitator.

design assistant: Derek Lop, printing assistant Sarah Frankie Sigman, binding assistant: Lillian Sheng

available through Center for Book Art, edition of 100, letter press and digital printing, 21.5 x 15.5 cm, 2021