Charles Dickens, Livia Signorini
130 pages; 140 x 220 mm; Hardcover

Pictures from Italy is one of Charles Dickens’ earlier works, a fantastic and whimsical foray into the twin worlds of travel and the imagination. Written in the 1840s when he traveled to the continent, it is a travelogue offering a rare glimpse into his life. 

In this illustrated edition, Italian artist Livia Signorini takes inspiration from Dickens’ words and plays with his sense of place, memory, and politics. The result is a contemporary dialogue with his work which renews our sense of his enduring vision.

Pictures from Italy is a tribute to the world of the great master in the 200th year of his birth.

A well-known folk poem from 17th century England, 'I Saw a Peacock with a Fiery Tail' is a form of trick verse. The poem at first seems nonsensical, but given a break in the middle of each line begins to make perfect sense. In this pioneering visual exploration of I Saw a Peacock, Gond tribal artist Ramsingh Urveti and book designer Jonathan Yamakami use art and design in the service of language. Working together, revealing and concealing, they brilliantly mirror the shifting ways in which poetry creates meaning.

Sita’s Ramayana shifts the point of view of the Ramayana – the saga of a heroic war – to bring a woman’s perspective to this timeless epic. Narrated by the heroine Sita, it is a powerful meditation on the fate of women, as they become pawns in the wars between men and kingdoms. But Sita is not just a patient victim of events – she endures her fate with fortitude, until the moment she decides to challenge it. The book unites two women from very different backgrounds: young urban writer Samhita Arni collaborates with Patua scroll artist Moyna Chitrakar to create this unusual graphic novel.

Andrea Anastasio and V. Gheeta When designer and artist Andrea Anastasio visited the United States some years ago, he was fingerprinted (like everyone else) by the airport immigration authorities. This moment — both banal and ominous — stayed with him until it worked its way into his art. The result is Fingerprint, a visual fable that celebrates resistance to state surveillance and control. The artist’s fingerprints, screen printed onto the pages of the book, create progressively complex patterns and sequences, transporting the fingerprint from the world of forensics and law into the freeing world of art and imagination. An accompanying essay by historian and political activist V. Geetha points to those suggestive instances when people across cultures and nations have resisted fingerprinting, asserting their right to existence while fighting all attempts to foreclose their identities.

Popular Culture/Design/ Social History Hardback 136 pages, colour Worldwide English language rights reserved French rights: Editions Alternatives £ 19.99 / $ 35 / Rs.1400