Patroclus in the armor of Achilles

The artist book Patroclus in the armor of Achilles takes its impetus from a section towards the end of Homer’s Iliad, in which the Greeks are about to succumb to the advancing Trojans. In an act of love and defiance, Patroclus (Achilles’ compatriot, companion, and/or lover depending on the translation) dawns the iconic armor of Achilles and ‘becomes’ him in order to ward off the oncoming barrage. During the battle, Patroclus’ double identity is found out and he is struck down, stripped of Achilles’ armor and killed. The resulting loss of Achilles’ love leads him into a rage that ends the Trojan war, but also brings about his own death. At the end of the war, the ashes of both Achilles and Patroclus are mixed together in a single urn, the remnants of their bodies forever mingled together on the beach of Troy.

The resulting artist book depicts by proxy the myth itself and serves as a contemporary variation on the love story and its poetic implications. The work spawns from the myth and alternates between clothing, skin, touch, farce, and returns to the central ideals of the myth, broadening one’s ability for a queered reading of the text. The book becomes an iteration or variation on the armor of Achilles, appropriating and re-using a number of materials as images for the book and makes space for the body to interact with the elements reproduced.  

This publication was created while Artist in Resident at the International Print Center New York as part of their Artist Development Program in spring 2021. The book is rivet bound, and contains risograph printed images on French and Neenah papers. The cut paper elements were cut using a Silhouette Cameo 4 and assembled by the artist. Special thanks to Lindsay Davis for assisting in the photography of many of these images.

Edition of 75 books

All images of Connective Tissues by Alex Boeschenstein.