Paul Etienne Lincoln

The Glovers’ Repository, by New York–based artist Paul Etienne Lincoln (born 1959), tells the stories of 24 characters who either practiced deception or were the unwitting victims of subterfuge. From Mary Toft who claimed to have given birth to a rabbit, to King Zog who survived 55 assassination attempts, the characters are all legends in their own right. Their lives are related by Lincoln with characteristic wit and are documented with photographs. This book was inspired by a large-scale installation by Lincoln, a vitrine containing 24 gloves, one for each character. Each glove rotated via a mechanism based on the workings of Big Ben. The book is bound so that, when it is opened flat, two small books of the characters’ stories are revealed, one left- and the other right-handed. The book then folds out further to reveal documentation of the installation.