 |
 |
 |
|
The Americas Biennial Exhibition of Contemporary Prints 2008 Selections for Exhibition |
|
|
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
||
Blue Margaret Ashman |
||
| Artist's Statement | ||
My work is an inquiry into the emotional side of human relationships and the inner, spiritual dimension of living. I make works to engage the viewer, sometimes to elicit a dramatic, visceral, emotional reaction, sometimes to proke a gentler, more thoughtful way. I work from photographs of Deaf people using sign languge, and am interested in the way that meaning becomes lost, as words are translated into sign, and then into a still image on paper. Sometimes, I give my models texts to sign, or, I allow them to chat, or communicate, as they wish. The deficiency of trying to capture time-based signs with still photography results in communication ambiguity, if not, total breakdown. Two small prints, ‘Orange’ & ‘Blue’, are of a person signing the colours orange, and blue. Some of my works are lifesize images of people, caught mid-frame, in the extremes of emotion. Digital photography can capture mirco-expressions—very short-lived facial expressions, normally hidden—that may appear to show the opposite emotion that the person is feeling. These works are dark and dramatic but as you get closer to them, the image becomes more ambiguous, then breaks up, and almost disappears. Other works feature groups of people signing, or combined images of Deaf people with imagined elements, such as flowers. They are a visualization of the spiritual, inner realm. This work is about consciousness and unconsciousness, about the self, and our image of ourselves.
|
||
 |
| Statement of Artistic Process | ||
Each print is a multi-plate Photo Etching using two plates. Starting with my own digital photographs of the model, I use Adobe Photoshop to prepare two transparent images. I used Bitmap mode with diffusion dither. The other images were printed by inkjet onto acetate. A copper plate and a steel plate were prepared with Photrak® emulsion. I used my transparencies with a UV lightbox to transfer the images to the plates. I developed the images on the plates with sodium carbonate, and then etched in ferric chloride, or nitric acid. The plates were rinsed, then aquatinted, and etched again. The Phototrak® was removed with caustic soda, and the plates were inked in separate colours. The steel plate was printed first, and then the copper plate on damp Somerset paper with a Rochat Press.
|
||
|
| Bio | ||
Education 2008
|
||
|
Copyright © 2008 The Americas Biennial Exhibtion