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A is for Allah

A is for Allah

Sebastian Utzni

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Austria, Germany: €4 — Rest of EU, Switzerland: €6 — Rest of the world: €12

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Booklet, saddle stitching, bw with spot colours, 24 × 30 cm, 24 pages
Edition: 400, design: Astrid Seme, 2020

The works of Swiss artist Sebastian Utzni uncover cultural, political and aesthetical parallels. They are conceptually strong, politically challenging and never lack a certain childishly playfulness, like his latest publication “A is for Allah”. The booklet appears like an oversized school notebook, with handwritten texts inside which are actually based on woodcuts. The text is a series of writing exercises that has its origin in an Afghan schoolbook series, which was financed by the United States. The Education Program for Afghanistan of the University of Nebraska in Omaha published the books since the beginning of the 1980s with a 50 million dollar grant from United States Agency for International Development during the Russian occupation of Afghanistan. For the Mujahidin, who were fighting against the Sowiets, the schoolbooks were a medium to spread political propaganda and to prepare a new generation of holy warriors with the ideas of a militant islamism for the fight against the enemies of islam. In 1992 there was a revision of the series, militant pictures and texts were removed. Anyway, even today a lot of the original copies of the books are used in the areas influenced by the Taliban in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
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This product is designed and sold by — Mark Pezinger Books

Country — Austria

Shipping information — Austria, Germany: €4 — Rest of EU, Switzerland: €6 — Rest of the world: €12

About — Mark Pezinger Books is a Vienna-based publishing house specializing in artists' books. Established in 2010, it is managed by graphic designer Astrid Seme and artist Thomas Geiger.

Under the design leadership of graphic designer Astrid Seme and the editorial guidance of artist Thomas Geiger, our collaborations thrive on the synergy between artists, designers, editors/publishers, and institutions. At the core of our work is a dedication to experimental approaches that transform ideas into tangible publications.