Wounds and Wonders
Artist Booklet
Moussa Kone, Martin Rotheneder (ed.): The Colman Book of Wounds and Wonders. Stift Melk, 2014
14.4 x 11 cm, 94 pages, 48 illustrations, softcover, bound. Yorùbá and German language. Yorùbá translation by Ṣàngódélé Ayọ̀bíyi.
ISBN 978-3-9503864-0-0
Moussa Kone relates this booklet to the Colman breviary which was handed out to pilgrims at Melk Abbey in the 18th century. According to popular belief, it had the mystical power to protect its owners.
In 48 drawings and watercolor paintings, Wounds and Wonders focuses on the cruelties and miracles of the local legend.
Combined with charms and blessings in Yorùbá language, the new breviary represents a bridge to the human yearning to experience the divine - and the power of book-making.
“The supernatural is a human need. Here, the medium for miracles is the printer's ink on paper.”
Moussa Kone
Wounds and Wonders is also the title of an artwork exhibited at the arts festival Points of Passage at Melk Abbey. Originally, the production of this artist booklet has never been planned and came out as a surprise.
Read more about the story of these images in the section about Work on this website.