I decided that the work should touch the floor at a single point, in the centre of the work, and that the end rolls should fall close but not touch the ground. As a result, the feeling of gravity, through contrast, suspense and tension, was emphasised. This reflected the filling and emptying of the tidal pool, the figurative point of reference for the work. The curves of paper mirrored the cratered floor of the pool, while the vertical rollercoaster like decent of the paper mirrored the powerful body of tidal water with which the pool was filled and emptied. The printed motif that ran throughout the work became fragmented and elongated at different points and challenged the viewer to consider why each time they saw this repeated image is appeared unique.

 

I was also able to accentuate and play with the relationship between the hidden and the visible. Figurative elements in the printed work are hidden or distorted through dissonant surface texture or pattern, for example, where traditional process (relief printing from a wooden surface) meets digital process (laser cutting, digital projection). The lack of figurative clarity leads the viewer to search throughout the work for answers and clues, for a cumulative point at which the hidden is revealed. The three dimensionality of the installation creates another ‘dimension’ for this journey, areas of repetition can be viewed from different angles, at different distances and in different light. It forces the viewer to move around the work, for the viewer to become physically subject to the work. The three dimensional elements can either enforce or disrupt the structure of the repetitious motif.

 

The unconscious mind, and how it informs our perception of self and place informs the figurative and structural elements of the work (and all recent works). I evoke and reflect the unconscious though the following:

 

• Fragmentation and subversion of conventional space and structure challenges the viewer’s interpretation of image and format, a reflection that the unconscious does not adhere to conventional recollection and uses different systems of order to present disparate elements.

• An absence of figures or anatomical features encourages the viewer to experience the image as if through their own eyes and to interpret what they see from their own point of view. I am presenting a direct narrative that the viewer is encouraged to articulate from their own points of reference, and encouraging the forging of unexpected relationships (as in the unconscious mind).

• Figurative and photographic elements are detached or abstracted (through image or structure) from their original context. My works are no longer a figurative observation but a metaphorical tool used to forged relationships between the geographic/cosmic and personal. The images take on a universality, detached from a specific place or time, one that resolves meaning in the mind of the viewer.

• Sequential imagery and structure is used as an analogue for the perception of passing time, and the record of memory. The structure of a work is modulated through; colour relationships, distortion or concealment of form and dissonant surfaces texture. This modulation contribute towards a simulated environment that evokes a liminal space, at odds with a figurative, conventional environment, one that appears ‘out time’, or ‘frozen time’.

• When interpreted through the above, source imagery of geographical, cyclical environments take on metaphorical value and evoke universal psychological themes that act as a keystone for the unconscious mind (beginning, end and reconciliation).

 

“It (unconsciousness) always manifests itself when conscious or rational knowledge has reaches its limits and mystery sets in, for man tends to fill the inexplicable and mysterious with the contents of his unconscious. He projects them, as it were, into a dark, empty vessel.” (p.254) Carl Jung, Man and his Symbols.

"When examining nature and the universe , instead of looking for and finding objective qualities, man encounters himself”, (p.307) Werner Heisenberg, Man and His Symbols.

 

During the course of the exhibition I noticed that the large window behind the work caused it to become backlit in the late afternoon/early evening. This added further structure and fragmentation to a work that was already using these techniques of examination. The light interrogated the material qualities of the thin Japanese paper and the contrasting tone and surface quality of the inks. The suspended paper would sway as doors or windows were opened and closed elsewhere in the building. It was evidence of the same forces that caused the tidal pool to rise and recede, forces to which we are all subject. These changing environmental qualities gave what came into the room as a fixed, printed, repeated work a presence in time through which it was a subject and therefore through which it changed.

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2. Laser cut aquatint simulations

 

I began working on a series of smaller experimental works that sought to challenge and expand by understanding of laser cutting, specifically in relation to tone in intaglio process. To this point I had predominantly been using the laser cutter to engrave sheet plywood for large relief printed panels. The smaller works I had made were often etchings, a process that did not traditionally require the laser cutter. I found the surface texture and quality of tone to be quite different in a relief print comparatively to the intaglio process. The etchings I had made previously had rich, deep tones created through aquatint, that were quite unique to other process. I found the medium spoke to a deep, internal space through which I could explore more intimate personal themes. The relief process, however, pushed me towards a larger sense of scale and structure. I wanted to create larger, more numerous intaglio works to see how the themes developed at scale but the cost and time implications made it difficult.

 

Therefore, I decided to attempt imitating an aquatint, but instead of using traditional methods (metal plate, pine resin, acid, etc.) I prepared a number of digital images that would be laser cut into a laminate card. I simulated the powdered aquatint with alternating black and white dots, this was done in different resolutions, at different frequencies. These files were cut into the laminate board. While the results of the printed matrix did not produce the rich, consistent tone of an aquatint, they did produce tone, and some really interesting results.

 

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