What is the relation between the printing surface and the act of trasfering ink? In exploring the retention of ink in the monotype printing process with linear, planar and granular materials, I was confronted with the ever-present potential for mess inherent in the printing process. I wanted to express this messy potential- in using tissue paper to make prints I was able let the ink through with varying translucency, but the paper was so thin and difficult to remove, that it would break apart and could only be discarded after each print. To reject this notion of disposability, I set out to create a series of prints that could achieve a density of ink through repetition. My previous tests with the torn tissue paper led me to deliberately shred paper- thicker, more absorbent paper, that would only need to be be inked once but where the ink itself would “last” multiple prints.
Upon multiple presses the shredded paper became structurally sound enough for me to weave a strip of colored paper through to transfer yellow ink, hinting that the shredded strips all belong to the same field.
Process: Monotype printmaking, Material studies
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