Tom Griggs – A Creature Obeys A Creature That Wants / La criatura sigue a su animal interior

Guest Review by Lee Halvorsen •

Its unique slipcase hints at the book’s story, a glimpse of the author’s relationship with his father and his father’s journey with mental illness. The compelling images are a skilled progression of family snapshot photography and the author’s abstract images brought to life with powerful text and exquisite sequencing. The volume is extraordinary, its unique slipcase pulls open from both sides to unveil a sewn binding of 128 pages of 200+ gsm paper. Each page turn is a very physical act, the reader visually and tactilely experiences the weight and significance of the page turn and the discovery of the content after the turn.

Black is the background color of many pages; the book opens in black, suddenly transitioning to light filled abstracts. Abruptly we find ourselves viewing a portrait of a man in bed. Then family snapshots of the author’s parents, their home, items from the home fading to abstracts mixed with images of the author’s father and the author as the two of them age. The image sequences subtly add suspense to every page turn and a feeling of foreboding as the story matures. Up to this point, only “handwritten” poems or passages appear alone on pages between those with images.

About the halfway point into the book, Griggs introduces text. The paragraphs are very separate from one another and they all begin with a hanging indent. This design quickly brings your eye into the body of the short paragraph, each one a deeper dive into the father-son relationship and growing mental illness of the Dad. Each page turn uncovers more of the journey; the abstract images become more literal, more connected with the story.

Griggs’ images and his text gradually eliminate color from his father’s life as the analogy of being slowly wrapped in mental illness. The family pictures in the last half of the book emphasize the similarity in father’s and son’s looks as well as their activities. The pairing of father and son images puts the two in close tandem as they grow older … the progressive images of the pair with the visceral text is a gentle warning of the next page. The sense of foreboding intensifies and is finally unveiled on the last page.

Most of the text in the book is translated to Spanish on the page immediately following the English. The English pages are black typeface with an ivory, tan background; Spanish pages are white typeface with a black background, a dramatic switch from one language to another. I was appreciative of the Spanish translation. Oftentimes another language provides additional texture with a slightly different perspective or view. The translation was outstanding and added to the rich emotional experience (although not reading the Spanish version does not detract from the experience). For instance, in Chapter 9, first line, the English, “Gray winks out as well.” In Spanish on the following spread, “El gris se extingue.” or the gray extinguishes itself, the same but with a slightly different, perhaps richer, feel.

The book is a work of art, the images and text woven into a family tapestry of adventure, disappointment, illness, and hope. An emotional, provocative read.

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Lee Halvorsen is a visual artist and author.

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Tom Griggs – A Creature Obeys A Creature That Wants / La criatura sigue a su animal interior

Images & Text: Tom Griggs (from Colombia and Mexico)

Languages: English & Spanish; translation to Spanish: Esteban Duperly

Encased softcover, hand-sewn binding, 128 pages; 19.5 x 26 cm; offset, 200-280gsm, printed by Taller Artes y Letras S.A.S; edition of 400; ISBN 978-628-95800-0-6

Editing, Graphic Design and Layout: Mesa Estándar

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