Ocean Vuong: Hours after my mother took her last breath on earth

For writer and photographer Ocean Vuong’s first solo exhibition at CPW last Spring, we produced a beautiful artist’s book titled Hours after my mother took her last breath on earth. Published by CPW Press and 1080Press, and featuring a collaboration between Vuong, photographer Raymond Meeks, and printer/poet Vladimir Nahitchevansky, the book quickly sold out. Now, CPW has created two very limited new editions of that book. Meeks, who had worked with Vuong to create Hours, has a unique hardbound edition of the original book. The hardcover version is in an edition of 40, signed and priced at $150 each.

In addition, Meeks has made three, unique collectors’ copies of Hours. Housed in a wooden box with a clear acrylic cover, each comes with a signed 8 x 10″ silver-gelatin photograph by Ocean Vuong. For this version, Meeks and Vuong limited themselves to black-and-white imagery and Meeks went further into Vuong’s archive to shape a specific visual experience that aligned with Vuong’s text. Most of the images from the book were a part of the exhibition at CPW, but quite a few were specific to the book. This special limited edition box is priced at $1,200.