Experimentation with Silk Screen

As discussed within my previous post I created a series of images derived from the coastal landscape which I manipulated via the process of scanning in order a sense of disortion and displacement. In order to create more of a hand finished quality I experimented by silkscreening the images onto sections of board to see how this would change the nature of the imagery and what effect it had in relation to the landscapes that I was depicting.

Irregular Fluctuation, 2015, Silkscreen on MDF, 25 x 36cm

Slippage, 2015, Silkscreen on MDF, 26 x 40cm

Drift, 2015, Silkscreen on MDF, 29 x 40cm

Dunes, 2015, Silkscreen on MDF, 24 x 36cm

I was really excited by the results and quality of the imagery achieved via the process of silkscreening. In particular I found the interchange between the black ink and brown mdf to be very effective and compelling. The ink combined persuasively with the cheap quality and feel of the materials. In printing the imagery onto the board it was also an effective way of enhancing the quality of the smudges, blurs and other accidental marks created via the process of scanning, while the solid nature of the wood enabled more of a convincing case for them to be considered as art objects.

As a further consideration and way of experimenting with altering the appearance of the silk screens, I experimented by applying gloss paint to the surface of the MDF in order to see how this altered the appearance of the silk screens and whether this brought any additional dimension to the work.

Irregular Fluctuation I, 2015, Silkscreen and Gloss on MDF, 25 x 36cm

Slippage I, 2015, Silkscreen and Gloss on MDF, 25 x 36cm

Drift I, 2015, Silkscreen and Gloss on MDF, 29 x 40cm

Dunes, 2015, Silkscreen and Gloss on MDF, 24 x 36cm

One of the elements that I felt was particularly positive with regards to the addition of paint to the MDF surface was the fact that it added a degree of spontaneity to the images that was not present within the silkscreens by themselves. In a similar vein the addition of the painted areas meant that the images were no longer part of a series or edition but now functioned as one offs.

Although the addition of the paint to the MDF surface added something extra to the feel and the quality of the images I feel that further experimentation is necessary in terms of how the paint is applied as well as the choice of colour. Via further experimentation I aim to resolve the cohesion and interaction between the printed and painterly surface so as to create a unity between the spontaneity and liberal application of the paint alongside the more controlled and restrained quality of the printed marks.

An artist whose work I have been considering in relation to my recent experiments with silk screen is that of the French artist Roland Flexner, whose recent ink drawings I had the opportunity to view at the Massimo De Carlo gallery in London. 

         

Roland Flexner, 2012, Untitled, Liquid Graphite on Yupo, 9 x 12"

Roland Flexner, 2012, Untitled, Liquid Graphite on Yupo, 9 x 12"

Flexner's practice focuses around drawing with ink, his drawings appearing to resemble a series of uncanny landscapes. As part of his experimentation Flexner explores the fashion in which the element of chance influences the making of these drawings. Using the processes of manipulation which include breath, water and gravity Flexner attempts to document the potential of this material by pushing it to a pictorial dimension. 

Roland Flexner, 2012, Untitled, Liquid Graphite on Yupo, 9 x 12"

Roland Flexner, 2012, Untitled, Liquid Graphite on Yupo, 9 x 12"

The manipulations Flexner has used in order to control the flow of the ink from one drawing to another alternates from tilting (use of gravity), blowing (with or without straws), spraying water mist over the drawing, friction and pressure applied to the back of the drawing. 

Roland Flexner, 2012, Untitled, Liquid Graphite on Yupo, 9 x 12"

Roland Flexner, 2012, Untitled, Liquid Graphite on Yupo, 9 x 12"

'The idea of landscape is inseparable from time, as it is a recording of time itself. Time is a flow that is driven by events every single one of my drawings in an event in a state of becoming.' Roland Flexner (massimodecarlo, 2015)

In a similar fashion to the works of Christopher Cook which I discussed in a previous post Flexner's works created via chance processes has a strong figurative element to it meaning that when viewed they possess a strong affinity with the landscape. However in a similar fashion to Cook's paintings there is something quite uncanny and otherworldly about the pieces meaning that the longer one views them the more ones mind drifts off into an alternative reality or space that is neither situated in the real world or the world of fantasy but sits uncomfortably somewhere imbetween. 

I am intrigued by Flexner's use of chance processes and manipulations as a way of creating his work. By scanning in print outs of the landscape of the North Norfolk coast whilst moving the imagery upon the scanner bed I have attempted to incorporate a chance element within my work. I hope that this operates as a way of displacing and dislodging the viewers expectation as to how they envisage the landscape may appear, whilst simultaneously making the experience very much grounded within place and landscape. In a similar fashion to both Cook and Flexner definitive figurative elements begin to fuse, blend and merge with other areas that are drifting off into an abstract and subconscious realm.  

As part of the dialogues lecture series, 'Speculative Matters' I had three of my silk screened images chosen to be part of the exhibition. This was a good opportunity for me to showcase how the images looked within a gallery setting as well as an appropriate platform in order to devise a way for them to be hung (see image above). One of the overriding considerations emerging from this show was devising a way to hang the work on account of the differing levels of abstraction inherent within the prints. By placing the middle image, almost unrecognisable as being derived from the landscape between two prints containing more pronounced figurative elements was a good way to contextualise the imagery in a fashion which provided a strong grounding within the reality of place and the landscape. 

massimodecarlo (2015) Roland Flexner (internet) available at: www.massimodecarlo.com/exhibitions/view/119977?&lang=eng

Work in progress, North Norfolk Coast

Having taken a series of photographs of my walk at Burnham Ovary Staithe, I considered how to proceed in order to create new work which followed on from the circular tondo pieces that I discussed in my previous post. The shifting marshes and dunes appeared to be an obvious point of reference on account of their ephemeral, transient nature and formation as a result of the layering and deposition of sand and mud constantly moving, re-forming and changing according to the natural processes and mechanisms working upon them. I began to consider ways in which it would be possible to visually represent these changeable landscapes within my work in a more literal and recognisable fashion than their portrayal via my tondo pieces. Initially I began by printing out some of the sections from the panoramas that I had amalgamated:

I experimented with different ways of presenting the photographs and decided that making them black and white resulted in a much starker visual impression. The imagery appeared bleaker, crisper and more distinct, whilst also creating the impression of looking back in time. Similarly by abandoning colour which has been such an overriding preoccupation within my practice allowed me to experiment with other aspects within the work without allowing my compostions to be dominated by strong, non-naturalistic and overbearing colours.

Although I found the black and white photographs to be visually distinct I decided that it would be interesting to add some additional distortion that would help to make the images appear more ambiguous, hazy and indistinct. 

As with my earlier attempts of introducing pattern into the landscape compositions of Mousehold Heath I wished to continue to experiment with ways of breaking up the surface as a way of alluding to some form of underlying tension or drama. Rather than introducing an additional element as in the case of the geometric patterns I was looking for some way of generating visual distortion that was not separated from the images themselves but functioned as a part of the imagery. In doing this I hope to allude to some form of disconnection occurring between myself and the landscape.

I experimented by scanning in print outs of the above landscape sections whilst moving them about during the scanning process, which resulted in the following set of images:

I increased the contrast of the images so they appeared more definitively black and white. I was especially pleased with the distortion and glitches that were created via the process of moving the images during the scanning process. Whilst still possible to make out elements of the dunes and marshes it created an element of uncertainty which combined effectively with the increased black and white contrast. Although there are still recognizable landscape elements there is a distinct shift and slippage that occurs as if the landscape is beginning to slide, transform and break up into something else that incorporates elements from the landscape, alongside elements which reference technology and the digital era.

Other elements which I felt added to the effectiveness of the imagery included their blurry, smudged, unfinished quality whilst the glitches whereby the scanner could be seen on the edge of the picture plane helped to create the sensation that these were otherworldy, indistinct places which had somehow how become unhinged and were slipping away from a solid grounding in reality.