Southern Cross is the sole wordless novel by Canadian artist Laurence Hyde (1914 1

987). Published in 1951, its 118 wood-engraved images describe the effect of ato
mic testing on Polynesian islanders. Hyde (pictured) made the book to express hi
s anger at the US military's nuclear tests in the Bikini Atoll. The story tells
of the American military evacuating villagers from a Polynesian island before te
sting nuclear weapons. A drunken soldier attempts to rape a fisherman's wife dur
ing the evacuation, and the fisherman kills him. Their child witnesses the death
of its parents and destruction of its environment from the atomic tests. The wo
rdless novel genre had flourished primarily during the 1920s and 1930s, but by t
he 1940s even the most prolific practitioners had abandoned it. Hyde was familia
r with some such works by Lynd Ward, Otto Nckel, and the form's pioneer Frans Mas
ereel. The high-contrast artwork of Southern Cross features dynamic curving line
s uncommon in wood engraving and combines abstract imagery with realistic detail
. (Full article...)
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