'Living in your books'
The books Frank Halmans uses for his 'houses' come from discarded household effects and have made long journeys through flea markets and book fairs. Halmans rescues books just before they would disappear into the waste paper bin and gives them a new life.
The books are incised, creating windows, doors, rooms and vistas.
Size and colour are taken into account when constructing the image.
The title of the first book (at the 'front door') is also the title of the work. Homeliness and some nostalgia is unmistakably present.
In 'De lange weg' ('The long road'), the word 'ELDERS' (ELSWHERE) can be seen as incised text.