Lenin in Perth

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BACKGROUND:
This research draws on two fields of research through the medium of the artist’s book. Firstly biographical fiction as a genre of literature which ambiguously draws from historical research. ‘Nonfiction is offered for belief, fiction for make-believe’ (Ryan). These boundaries collapse in biographical fiction (Cohn; Genette; Lewis; Searle). This research also tests traditional assumptions of design through the credible publication of the fictional events of Lenin’s exile in Perth. This ficto-design is framed by the methodological practice of analytical bibliography as ‘the study of books as physical objects; the study of their production, the effects of the method of manufacture on the text’ (Belanger; Fleming).
CONTRIBUTION:
‘Lenin in Perth’ is an artist’s book (edition of 500 copies) designed by Simionato with photography by Donnachie and text by Christopher Crouch. This hard-cover book which recounts Lenin’s exile in Perth in the summer of 1949 was designed by Simionato to test the ethical, social and cultural, boundaries of ficto-historical narratives through a studio practice which combines analytical bibliography, with contemporary critical social and political discourse in the annotated ‘Leninalia’ (photographed by Donnachie).
SIGNIFICANCE:
‘Lenin in Perth’ is included in the National Archives, Canberra. First launched in 2017 at Gallery East (Fremantle), in 2018 it was included in the official program of the National Gallery of Victoria’s Melbourne Art Book Fair, the largest international art book fair in the Asia-Pacific region. The collaborative process led to the development of the Lenin Reading Room (Northbridge, WA) which has the only complete edition of Lenin’s collected works in Perth 1925-53. It also houses the “Institute of Leninist Metaphor” collection. The work was mentioned in The Weekend Australian by critic Peter Beilharz, and in the book chapter ‘Recovering Marx’ in ‘Karl Marx’s Life, Ideas, and Influences’ (Palgrave MacMillan).