As We Alter It, So It Alters Us is a softcover, multicolor book by artist Cathy Wade. In this publication, Wade asks what the purpose of written correspondence between artists is. The book is divided into two parts. The first part is a text formed from fragments of letters she has written and received from other artists. Alongside this text are images of poetic statements abstracted even further from the correspondence. The second part of the book includes letters between Wade and other artists. As technology renders collaborative efforts increasingly obsolete, artists must interrogate the purpose and necessity of efficiency in their lives. How can writing and conversing have a place in our current era? As We Alter It, So It Alters Us was produced and published by Rope Press as part of her Wheatley Fellowship in 2016 at the Birmingham School of Art.

Cathy Wade is an artist concerned with the ways art can be distributed and received. She works through collaboration, writing, and research. Her work has been shown extensively in the UK and internationally. Rope Press is an independent publisher in the UK who works with artists to produce books and risograph prints.