The Revolution Will Be Televised / Nature Can't Be Tamed (second edition)

The Revolution Will Be Televised / Nature Can't Be Tamed. By Sara Elgerot / Rare Autumn, 2011. 14pp., b/w illustrations throughout, 7x10cm. Second/modified edition: 10 copies (hand-signed and numbered) plus 1 artist's proof.

The first edition of this book/zine was a limited edition of 15, which was part of the June/Winter issue of IMPRINT (with 1 copy in the PCA archive).

This second edition is printed on a paper with different texture and slightly higher grain. The finish and dimension of the book are also slightly different. It's limited to an edition of 10.


Book description:

A comment on the upheaval in the world right now. The change in society, the world structure - the change in reporting, viewing and reacting to world events, other cultures and other parts of the world.

Our reactions to conflict, and those things outside our control.


The starting-point for this artist book was the upheaval in the world that felt very prevalent to me (demonstrations through-out the middle east and the earthquake in Japan was perhaps the main starting point for this). From this I started thinking about the turmoil in the world, the change in the world order/balance, our environment, demonstrations through-out the world – and also the change in how this is reported, presented and perceived.

The title is a play on Gil Scott-Heron's 'The Revolution Will Not Be Televised' (which for our time is perhaps the complete opposite) and the fact that we in our fabricated world somehow think we are, and also actually are up to a point, living outside nature and the laws of nature.


The book was made by cutting images from newspaper reports on natural disasters, demonstrations and violence (man-made and natural catastrophes eerily similar in their appearance).

The images were layered and assembled into collages, text added, then photocopied on different copiers, scanned, copied, layered, cut and printed on inkjet in black & white.

The resulting pieces were then folded into books, trimmed and staple-bound.


UPDATE: This book can now be found in the Bower Ashton Library Artists' Books collection, the Centre for Fine Print Research Artists' Books Collection, and the LCC Library Zine Collection.