Notes

The wooden box and both prints are numbered 6/40.

In 2009, William Kentridge and Gerhard Marx were commissioned to make a pubic sculpture for the City of Johannesburg. The sculpture is based on a drawing by Kentridge of a woman street vendor – fire walker – carrying a burning brazier on her head. The book began as a project to document the making of the collaborative sculpture and evolved into conversations asking critical questions about public spaces in Johannesburg.

The making and collecting of art books came under the spotlight at the recent colloquium, Booknesses: Book Art Colloquium held at UJ (University of Johannesburg). A highlight was a public conversation between William Kentridge and Jack Ginsberg, the internationally renowned art and book collector. In this discussion Ginsberg made specific reference to the high level of art making involved in this deluxe limited-edition book with a signed and numbered print from both artists presented in a beautifully constructed wooden box with a steel cutout of a Fire Walker inserted into a wooden cut-out on the lid.