Recent Prints

Introduction to Water-based Screen-Printing Workshop

5 colour separations of screen
Urban Zoning, Urban Zoning (Split), City Wall (Punctuating Separation)

Thanks to RSA Residencies for Scotland I have received funding from the Royal Scottish Academy and Scottish Arts Council, which will enable me to develop a body of print-based work at Edinburgh Printmakers Studio. In order to re-familiarise myself with the techniques of screen-printing and to induct me into the studio I have recently undertaken a weekend workshop in water-based screen-printing. This was an enjoyable weekend and I am enthusiastic about the possibilities of the medium, and utilising the skills and expertise of the studio staff.

With an interest in shifting socio-spatial boundaries within cities, I am currently building upon an investigation of the conceptual understanding, and the physical forms of the ‘temporary’ walls constructed around building sites. Within this process I have become interested in use of forward-slashes within the creation of 2D work. In addition to the aesthetic connection with the batons used in the creation of many construction-site hoardings, I am also interested in their grammatical usage. Similar to physical walls, forward-slashes are used within punctuation to indicate a separation of opposing ideas / alternatives. Taking inspiration from cartography, I am currently experimenting with such typography to create motifs upon grids in an attempt to reference division in physical space.

For the group workshop we were asked to produce a 5colour print and shown how to use the equipment and expose our images on to screens. Using a grid and a digital drawing of a construction-site hoarding I created 2 images (on one A2 Sheet), both involving the use of a forward slash motif. Having not considered the use of multiple layers, it was interesting to play around with this method and use a number of colours.

The grid is composed of five different sections, or zones, that when put together are very difficult to distinguish from one and other. This was intended as a reference to social zoning of physical urban space. The construction site hoarding was perhaps less successful, as this was only ever intended to be a single colour. That said, the workshop was about experimenting with new techniques and I feel that this has perhaps opened up new avenues for the future work I intend to produce.

My only criticism of Edinburgh Printmakers Studio is that the booking sheets for the use of screen-printing tables seems to be heavily booked and I am concerned that I will not get the opportunity to produce work as often as I would like.

City Wall (studio)

work is underway for the CONSTRUCTS exhibition. Click Here for Details

Punctuating the City

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Forward Slash, Punctuation to separate opposites or alternatives.

"In critical theory, a binary opposition (also binary system) is a pair of theoretical opposites. In structuralism, it is seen as a fundamental organizer of human philosophy, culture, and language. In post-structuralism, it is seen as one of several influential characteristics or tendencies of Western and Western-derived thought, and that typically, one of the two opposites assumes a role of dominance over the other. The categorization of binary oppositions is "often value-laden and ethnocentric", with an illusory order and superficial meaning." (From Wikipedia, Binary Opposition)

wealth/poverty growth/decay new/old

Dividing Space / Dividing Option

From "Ethics and the visual arts" By Elaine A. King, Gail Levin
Richard Serra, Tilted Arc
Christo, Running Fence