ABC 99g, 2025

99g was a mail art project by ABC which embraced the constraints of the postal system. The project was presented at the UK’s National Museum of Computing, located at the historic Bletchley Park, as part of Pushing the Envelope: An Exhibition of Mailed and Communication Art curated by Lucy Helton. On view from November 2, 2024 to March 30, 2025

Inspired by the inventive ways artists and traders have historically navigated customs regulations, 99gs explored the possibilities and limitations of sending books through the post. While shipping books internationally has become increasingly complex, letters containing correspondence and weighing under 100g remained exempt from tax and customs charges. Taking this threshold as its starting point, ABC and Lucy Helton invited a selection of international artists to produce a book weighing no more than 99 grams.

Each artist posted their work in a standard first-class envelope, adhering to the postal restrictions of their respective countries. The books travelled individually through the postal system, arriving to Bletchley Park over the course of the exhibition. The gradual accumulation of publications meant the project was not complete until the end of the show.

Artists: Andreas Schmidt, Anya Jasbar, Arnaud Desjardin, Asami Murakami, Barry Stone, Carla Salem, Cat Madden, Christine Demias, Claude Closky, Claudia de la Torre, David Schulz, Elinor O'Donovan, Elsa Werth, Erik Benjamins, Eugenie Shinkle, Fernanda Aránguiz Mardones, Fredrik Averin, George Grace Gibson, Georgia Metaxas, Hwang Eunyoung, Indianna Solnik, Ivonne Gargano, Jesse Rivers, Jessica Williams, John MacLean, Jonathan Lewis, Jonathan Schmidt-Ott, Jumana Emil Abboud, Karla Zorrilla, Laura Pilar Delgado, Leah Hickey, Louis Porter, Lucy Helton, MacDonaldStrand, Maria Ahmed, Micah Lexier, Michael Günzburger, Micheál O'Connell/MOCKSIM, Molly Soda, Oliver Griffin, Pedro Torres, Rahel Zoller, Rosaire Appel, Sara Kaaman, Scott Robertson, Stewart Hardie, Wil van Iersel, William Joys and Woosung Sohn