I have just completed my first proper set of prints. It is a variable edition of sixteen where the seven colour image is the same in every print but the colour combination is different in every one. I have been giving some thought as to why it is I have been enjoying creating screenprints again quite so much.
There are so many ways you can look at and think about visual art, but I have always divided it up in my mind between art that starts with what is already out there in the world and presents it afresh, and art where what is produced is a new thing. Now, as soon as I have finished typing those words then of course it becomes immediately obvious that so much artwork is actually both of those things, but I would contend that most artists lean towards one of these attitudes or the other. Either they are motivated to bring something into the world unlike anything that has ever been created before, or they are trying to “re-present” some aspect of the world around them, to help their audience to see and respond to the world anew.
The clearest example of representation is photography. I like to play around with formats and effects but am conscious that however far I push the images I am still simply manipulating what is already there. Despite the enjoyment I have derived from all the photographs I have produced, particularly the aerial and 360° images, I contend that the creative process is a much shorter journey, as by and large you start and end with a photograph.
I think this explains why I have taken such pleasure in returning to screenprinting. It is because when I am developing the prints it feels like there is a much fuller creative process at work, where I am repeatedly forced to make countless visual decisions, particularly about colour combinations, forms and textures. At every stage I must reflect upon everything I have done up to that point, adjusting and adding each layer until I can take each print no further. Photographs are often used as a starting point but, through the medium and technique applied, they become something very different. Regardless of how good any of them are, the prints I end up with feel new and feel like my art.
None of what I am saying here is suggesting any art form is better or worse than another, it is just that, for me, screenprinting provides an opportunity to immerse myself in the process of image-making in a much more satisfying way. I love it!