Voyage au jardin des ombres (Journey to the Garden of Shadows) is an artist’s book written and illustrated by Lulu Amere, each of the paintings accompanied by a short poem about the vagaries of love and relationship. Many of the paintings feature a phallic shadow in the background, hinting at an ever-present threat.

As a taste of the book’s contents, here is one of the poems:

Horreur sympathique

La demoiselle part, timide,
Clou planté dans son sein,
En belle perçée sa pâme livide,
Répandant limon divin.

L'insatiable aux dents acides,
Inaugure et serre dans ses mains,
Le glaive bien droit qui sonne avide,
Dressé par l’envie du matin.

Sympathetic Aversion

The woman disengages nervously,
A nail driven into her bosom,
Breaking out of her enraged reverie,
Spreading a divine flood.

Insatiable and with acid teeth,
She takes and clasps in her hands
The upright greedy shaft
Raised by morning envy.

Voyage au jardin des ombres was produced in a limited numbered edition of 200 copies; the book is available here, from Lulu Amere’s website.