Open Book(s): ILYSM (I Love You So Much)

Framed in the accessible format of a children’s board book, ILYSM (I Love You So Much) chronicles the collection of unlikely family memorabilia, such as cat hair and ashes and locks of Morton’s mother and father’s hair – as a way to explore connection, grief, and love beyond the everyday. This deceptively simple and heartfelt book invites readers into a space where intimacy is found in the overlooked and affection is held in the mundane.

ILYSM is featured in Monira Foundation’s Open Book program, which celebrates the book as a powerful tool for storytelling, connection, and community-building. Open Book highlights artists working in both traditional and experimental forms who use the book as a vessel to share expansive ideas and deeply personal narratives.

This special presentation is part of the OPEN BOOK(S) exhibition, organized by Monira Foundation and Mana Contemporary. It showcases artists who approach the book as a dynamic medium for expression, reflection, and connection.

About the Artist:
Polwin Morton is a chronically ill, non-binary artist whose assemblage paintings explore queerness, transness, and disability through diaristic reflections. Their works combine oil paint with materials like medical debris and resin-coated sequins to capture the nuanced beauty of bodily experience, vulnerability, and daily life. Morton earned a BFA from MICA (2009) and an MFA from Hunter College (2022), and their work has been shown at venues including White Columns, Klaus von Nichtssagend, Olympia, and internationally in China.

This program is made possible in part by public funds from the Jersey City Arts and Culture Trust Fund by a generous grant by the Hudson County Office of Cultural and Heritage Affairs.