where steps stop is a four-part work about the flux of water, sky, ground, and their visual convergence. This piece is also about the nature of printing; how the record of an ephemeral situation is transformed to become a fixed printed object. In addition to the construction of images via the physical strata of print processes, I layer the written word.
The first volume, when water colours, is a visual experience. It unfolds into the radically distinct colour realities of the lake’s edge as summer shifts to fall.
The second volume, below fragrant skies, evokes scent memories conjured by the wind, air pressure and weather environments. Words are used to identify cloud formations and reveal the invisible, subtle smells in the space. The large typeface of text is letterpress printed in barely perceptible ink. Words are pressed into the paper surface and hover amidst images of sky and cloud.
In surfaces murmur, the sonic experience is layered over the visual record. Layers of printing echo the layering of perception, as we see the represented space through a subtle veil of thought. Layering a CMY digital print with a polymerplate photogravure intaglio printing results in a work where the pigment ink sinks into the paper surface and the gravure printing rests on top. The distinct layers of printing generate photographic and graphic realities that reflect the human presence in the natural world.
The fourth, and final volume, steps stop, was inspired by driving to the lake with the radio on while the frequencies flickered between the music of Arvo Pärt and other stations. This led to an exploration of the compositional structure of Pärt’s music. His use of a repeated and evolving triad structure with a parallel melodic line is echoed by the triad of sky-water-land and the floating words that slowly build, then stop.
This work is discussed as part of my presentation “Photomechanical Process as Poetic Craft”.
Process videos on Instagram:
- Sliding the four books out of the slipcase
- Printing the letterpress component of below fragrant skies
- Printing the fourth image/word piece in surfaces murmur
This work is available for purchase.