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Often it is not what is displayed in the gallery that can offer the deepest insights into the consciousness and processes of the artist. Ephemera, such as their journals and sketchbooks, can afford us – the spectator – a more intimate view of their world, and can act as an extension of an exhibition, installation or performance. Far from being a marginal exercise, these personal, reflexive documents enrich meanings, illuminate ideas and link the private and public actions of the artist.

Reservoir by Alice Maher, published by Roads, is a collation of the artist’s previously unreleased sketchbooks between 1986 and 2012, and is a demonstration of all of the above. Selected works between 1992 and 2012 also feature in the volume, helping to reveal and complete the trajectory from an initial abstract thought to a final finished piece. Maher’s work, which appears in collections at IMMA, the Centre Pompidou and New York’s Met, has explored ideas of identity, transformation, memory, and myth across a wide range of media.

Progressing through what is a beautifully finished volume, the reader quickly realises that they are sharing in a deeply personal process; each page is alive with ideas as they swirl, ebb and flow. One can only imagine the depth of meaning and revelation for the artist that may be behind a simple line drawing or brief note scribbled, meaning which the reader can only begin to grasp; they are witness to a vigorous thrashing out of creative logic, reason and methodology. Like much of the artist’s exhibited works, the contents of the book are highly dynamic. As Maher writes in her introduction, “the reservoir should be always full but never still”. The book itself has a similar depth and fluidity that will keep the reader engaged and fascinated throughout.