A Cookbook of Invisible Writing is an artist book by visual artist, Amy Suo Wu.

Offering an introduction to analog steganography, a type of secret writing that is hidden in plain sight, A Cookbook of Invisible Writing is an invisible ink colouring book, recipe book, puzzle book and artistic research book. The book also serves as a starter pack to run workshops for those who are interested in alternative forms of communication. A Cookbook of Invisible Writing provides a wide variety of invisible ink recipes and other communication techniques that may be used to subvert surveillance, bypass censorship and make visible the struggles of minorities and other marginalised cultures. Additionally, it aims to inspire communities to develop their own new poetic and playful forms of communication as a way of nurturing social bonds.

In the tradition of esoteric manuals published on secret writing, this cookbook also channels the spirit of everyday access and the easy distribution and sharing of practical knowledge. Following Della Porta’s 1558 popular science book Natural Magic, one of the first major publications that detailed simple but diverse recipes of invisible inks for public consumption, this Cookbook aims to bring this obscure field to a wider audience. The publication includes a critical essay about the history of surveillance through a feminist and postcolonial lens. In the last Chapter is the artistic practice of the author and her body of work that aims to resuscitate analog techniques in light of surveilled and censored contexts.

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COLOPHON

Written and designed by Amy Suo Wu
Edited by Clementine Edwards
Published by Onomatopee

Language: English
Format: Softcover (spiral bound), 224 pages
Dimensions: 170 x 240 mm
Edition: First
ISBN-13: 9789491677953
Publication Date: 2019