Turning Over An Old Leaf: Contemporary Palm Leaf Work in South and Southeast Asia, an exhibition at San Francisco Center for the Book, looks at new directions in palm leaf work now that printed editions on paper have superseded most of the historical functions of palm leaf manuscripts. Exhibition dates are Friday, October 25, 2019 – Sunday, January 19, 2020.
In many South and Southeast Asian cultures, before printing, most books were palm leaf manuscripts: dried palm leaves; each leaf trimmed, incised, and inked by hand; strung on a cord and stacked between wood covers to make a single copy of a book. Now that printed editions have replaced most of the earlier functions of palm leaf manuscripts, the traditional arts of palm leaf survive on different cultural and economic terms. This exhibition shows examples of work by contemporary palm leaf artists across five countries: India, Indonesia (Bali), Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Burma (Myanmar).
