When I'm on the table saw at work, I grieve for you my love (Northern Love Poems)

(London): Sadie Coles HQ, 1997. Paperback. Fine. Paperback. Number 29 of 50 copies. Signed by both authors on title page in pencil. A collection of fifty love poems by English artists Thomson (1966) and Lowe (1967), who are known best for their humorous and sometimes offensive installations pieces. Their work often involves recreating elements from historical artworks by using everyday objects such as cigarettes or whiskey bottles to make statements about popular English culture. Fitting with their visual art, these poems are terse, crude, and very funny. They poke fun at the seriousness of the love poetry genre with verses like:

"I can count (truncated)
the fingers
on one hand
of women I've loved,
but after that incident
with the bandsaw
at work,
I'm afraid,
you're no longer
one of them"

and

"In the dark,
afraid that you've disappeared
and gone away
I punch the bed clothes,
but for some unknown reason
this time you stayed"

and

"I avoided you like the plague,
but like the black death
Quarantine came too late.
You were back on the train
to Bristol, with that bloke
you all the 'dark issue.'
I was left with your bolemic
brother adn my own
biological crisp factory.
I put the horse I
called your arse
before my cart
and rode to Jerusalem
with the duvet of death."

The poems are printed in black ink on fine laid paper and are housed in a black paper covered box titled in silver on the front panel. Unpaginated. [51 pages.] ARTB/081914. (Inventory #: 27692)