Mitch Anzuoni

When it comes to books, I am a relentless omnivore. I collect mimeographed poetry chapbooks, esoteric zines, handouts given to me on the street, religious ephemera, forgeries, galleys, all manner of printed matter. But I am especially drawn to material that purports to offer insight into unseen worlds, into the vast immaterial unknown which lies within us and above us. I am fascinated with the beyond and the language we use to bridge the gap between realms and so with this in mind for the New Members Collect Exhibition, I’ve chosen three items that represent a wide berth of spiritual communication methods.

The first is a hand-made sigil inked and painted by V Manuscript, a poet and scriptomancer, who made it for me as a gift for publishing his poetry book Salamander’s Wool on my press, Inpatient.

The next item is most ensorcelling: a grimoire of incantations inked by an anonymous Ottoman Empire scribe sometime in the 17th or 18th century. Written in Farsi with Arabic annotations in red (which often denotes the use of powerful and dangerous magic), it is a compendium of spells and remedies that are said to derive from the wisdom of Solomon, including a recipe for a protection potion brewed with blood and breast milk.

Finally, we have an intriguing specimen from the digital age: Tarot Mystery, a Japanese videogame developed for the Super Famicom which purports to tell the fortune of the player by means of Tarot. The game was never released outside of Japan and has garnered a reputation as a “cursed” game whose divinatory power is not to be trifled with.