Shells
(for my grandfather)
February 2013

An edition of one.

Book design, original color photographs, drawings, and book construction by Kristie Atwood.
13900 N. Sutherland Trail
Tucson, AZ 85739
Untied States of America

The journal of William Warren Atwood written by himself.

Original historical photos taken by William Warren Atwood and others, which are part of the family collection.

Printed on 100%, 32 pound, cotton paper made by Southworth: acid free, archival, made in the U.S.A.: and also Recollections card stock paper, acid free and made in U.S.A.
Printed with archival Epson ink jet inks on the Epson Artisan 50 printer.
 

Sold - Purchase award for the University of Arizona Special Collections Library

Artist’s Statement
        I was only nine when my grandfather Atwood died from lung cancer. For a year I wore his old t- shirts to bed.  I loved the way they smelled, like cigarettes and soap.  
    
        This book is based on his personal journey through World War II, which he fought in the South Pacific.  As I’ve made this book, I have read every page of his personal journal, and in that reading, I see that what I saw in him as a child was a genuine part of him; even through his alcoholism and self-destructive nature, there was a gentleness.
        
        The map used in the book was found by my grandfather on a Japanese solider.  The photos are personal, the journal is genuine.  I have also included my own photos of the sea and creatures in it. At first my grandfather saw the beauty in the islands, but they soon became a hell: malaria, jungle rot, sun blindness that swelled his eyes shut. He ate roaches in his bread and felt attacked constantly, and he had to kill. He also felt forgotten. However, when I looked up the Solomon Islands, Papua/ New Guinea, and Biak; they looked like paradise. I didn’t see the scars, mortar shells, or graves of thousands of men - but they are there.  I have attempted to juxtapose this paradise with the hell that it was.     
        
        This book has two sides; on one, you will find more of his connection with family life during the war. On the other you will find the war and how it permeated, becoming a lasting part of him.