Why is the piece titled 'Calimorphosis.' -
The first part of the title refers to Calamari which is another term used for squid, I had chosen to illustrate a squid person as the squid refers to adaptability and creativity. The nature of the squid is agile and innovative, two characteristics of which I feel are customary attributes of those who are visually impaired and blind. The second nuance of the title alludes to the conspicuous and abrupt change in the, usually animals body structure. However this composition refers to a metaphysical metamorphosis within the visually impaired community. Those who are sadly losing their sight can view the loss as a transcendence within new observatory methods, and perspective. Creating works which celebrate the remarkable skillsets in which the blind and visually impaired employ is imperative within the symbolism of my work.
The print portrays a female figure, nude floating earnestly within a body of water, her nudity portrays a state of vulnerability and fragility, connoting toward the hardships those who are visually impaired face within society. Work which is often phallic, yonic or vulgar tends to evoke a larger response; I want my work to be seen as a vessel for the voices of the blind and visually impaired. The squid head stands erect, tearing through the threshold of water, a metaphysical portrayal of the suffocating sense of being ignored and treat with patronising flourishes society deems 'helpful.' A cohesive sense of ambiguity nourishes the makings of the composition and narrates a cohesively oxymoronic message to society.
Relief methods of printing such as linoprinting are essential in regards to the basis of my project. Providing a tactile platform in which a visually impaired audience can navigate is of great importance, alongside exhibiting works which display vivid colour and bold, linear based illustrations, to be mounted and easily observed by those who have a visual ailment.
Prior to this project I had little experience in Lino printing and didn't especially enjoy the process as I found it tedious and hard to control. In the past I had gauged too much linoleum resulting in the plate to tear from excessive abrasions to the surface, as well as a confusion as to what I was printing and having to recall what sector I should refrain from carving and such. Fortunately I began designing my work over paper rather than straight over the linoleum, allowing room for error. Upon designing the print on paper, I then utilise the carbon print method in transferring my design to the linoleum. I have learnt that I should not mark areas of printing prior to the carbon application, due to chalk going all over the linoleum; instead I am to only transfer the line drawing over to the matrix. Luckily, chalk can be easily removed from linoleum so excess is not an issue. Once transferred I then mark up the areas that will be kept (black) and avoid the whites. Using smaller blades has worked tremendously in carving the linoleum as I have acquired a better sense of control both mentally and literally over the Lino. I find soft cut Lino, as the name implies to be easier to gauge into, but control is limited as the surface is more slippy and malleable. Though it requires warming, the harder Lino backed with hessian portrayed greater success as the hessian provides further assurance toward stability and mildly controls the malleable nature of the linoleum.
I had also embarked upon creating a gradient, a process I found to be rewarding given the seamless blend of the colours, narrating a coherent rendition of one to the other. I had experimented with 3 different coloured papers, white, cream and black. The white resulted in the top portion of the design being lost to the background as the gradient colours were blue to white (upwards) I then attempted the print over cream which provided a better result but did not 'pack a punch' so to speak... I wanted to explore methods which are vulgar in a sense that they are bold, unavoidable to the eye. I developed the prints further by experimenting over black paper, in conjunction with rendering the blue pigment further into the whites of the design. The black paper had offered the most successful series of prints, however the base of the composition is somewhat lost due to the hue of the blue being so engulfed with a darker saturation. If I were to conduct another series, I would perhaps explore different colour pairs of a lighter hue, alongside different coloured papers. Given the time constraints of the methodology module I am unable to do so as of now, but as I am continuing the project through James' module I will undergo exploring different colours and perhaps even different surfaces to print on.
In regards to any benefits I have gained in commencing in exploring lino printing further, I have became a better printmaker in relief printing. I have always employed the intaglio processes opposed to relief, as I had thought in the past that detail could not be captured to its full potential within the relief process, however I am most definitely wrong. Though intaglio process allows me to draw each and every line that I wish to, I can still do the same through relief over a bolder altitude. As mentioned earlier I chose to explore relief methods of printing in order to provide a tactile format of display for a visually impaired and blind audience to interact with.
The response I have had concerning the imagery of the print has been positive and well received. My peers have noted that it is a surreal piece capturing a juxtaposed narrative, and they find the piece to be somewhat intriguing. To conclude I find the technical portion of the prints exhibited below to be well executed, relating to the lines marked within the linoleum. The application of ink however was somewhat difficult in establishing the correct ratio to work with... Some prints resulted in a crumpingesc texture due to there being too much ink on the roller rather than an even disperation across. Another variable of which resulted in a mediocre print were the white and cream paper prints, purely due to colour choice of inks.
Please note 'weaker' prints displayed through the gallery are news print prints which I had kept as a further source for experimentation.
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