Pecanins, Yani

Mexican artist. A central figure in the artist's book movement in her country, both as an editor and promoter and in her artistic practice. While her creations transcend the boundaries of what traditional art history has classified as art object, artist's book, and installations, her production of object books expands the notion of the artist's book and establishes a constant interplay between the object, the visual, and the poetic. She studied linotype and bookbinding in Barcelona, and from this learning experience, she began her professional work in book art in 1977 when she founded the Cocina Ediciones project. Conceived as an alternative and independent space to edit, design, print, and produce artist's books, limited edition magazines, and handmade artist portfolios at a "homemade" cost. Set up in her mother's kitchen, Cocina Ediciones focused on collective and experimental work that fostered continuous collaborations among artists, writers, and poets, innovating the use of materials and printing methods, including mimeographs, photocopies, rubber stamps on austere papers, and other unconventional materials.