ABOUT AND BACK STORY
ABOUT
STUDIO 5 BOOK ARTS
Mark works from Studio 5, opened in 2003, a first floor studio in a converted mews property in South West London. Studio 5 is a working studio specalising in contemporary bookbinding, book arts and allied arts and crafts. The studio ethos concentrates on combining modern practices with traditional skills. From the artist's sketch book to installation work the emphasis is on the creative and unique.
Studio 5 is also the host of BASE, Book Art SpacE gallery, London. Arguably the smallest book arts exhibition space in the world with internal measurements of just 76cm x 34cm x 18.5cm. Opened in January of 2012 BASE is a unique book arts exhibition venue.
TEACHING AND COURSES
Studio 5 offers Creative Studies in Contemporary Bookbinding and Book Arts offer a unique combination of specialisms in traditional, contemporary and experimental bookbinding and book arts practises. With a flexible delivery programme throughout the year along with modular learning that affords time and consideration, enabling the individual student to maximise their learning experience.
Whilst it would be easy to increase numbers, the ethos of Studio 5 has always been quality not quantity. Unlike many courses that concentrate on collecting numbers, conceptualisation and theory with minimal exposure to the practical aspects of bookbinding and book arts.
With an ever increasing trend for people to have more than one career in their working life, Studio 5 is very well placed to offer all suitable students an exciting, stimulating and challenging learning opportunity in an area of the arts where there is growing awareness, varied progression routes and work opportunities.
BACK STORY
MARK COCKRAM
Discovering his passion for bookbinding and book arts whilst working in Paris, Mark enrolled on the bookbinding course at Guildford College of Technology (Diploma in Fine Bookbinding & Conservation), graduating in 1992 with Distinction and The William Matthews Memorial Award. Further studies included bookbinding at ‘Studio Livre’ Tokyo and the London College of Printing (BA Hons) Book Arts and Crafts.
Mark works in fine contemporary bookbinding, book arts, printing, box art, installation work and collaborative works, both working and teaching various aspects of bookbinding and book arts in Studio 5, the UK, France, USA, India, the Philippines and Japan. Mark gathers his ideas and inspiration from his surroundings, aspects of the ancient and modern, people and places.
Multi disciplinary in his approach, Mark was once described as the Christian Lacroix of bookbinding! The work usually combines traditional and contemporary techniques and materials, modifying or manipulating, developing and creating new approaches to realise the final piece.
Mark’s oeuvre is exploratory and diverse being exhibited internationally with work represented in public and private collections including the National Art Library at the V&A Museum, the Library of Congress, The British Library, the Museum of Liverpool and The Art Workers’ Guild. Since being elected Fellow of Designer Bookbinders, Mark has been a regular binder for The Booker Prize.
Elected Fellow of Designer Bookbinders 2001, Brother of The Art Workers’ Guild 2008, Special Researcher of the USST Purple Heron Bookbinding Design & Research Centre, Shanghai 2019 and Fellow Bookbinder Purple Heron, Shanghai 2020. Owner/Curator of BASE, Book Art SpacE Gallery, London.