About Tao
These two latest prints are entitled Tao. One is earth, one is sand. Back in the late eighties when my main concern would simply have been about how to sustain a creative studio practice, I was hugely influenced and impressed by the work of April Greiman. I’m not sure if her seminal works have stood the test of time, but in many ways that is not the point.
I love the idea that a work can in some way define or represent the moment that it is made in, indeed it inevitably must. At a time when I was still being taught at college to use traditional media by tutors who simply hadn’t understood the nature of the Tsunami that was rolling towards us, she seemed to be blazing a trail with revolutionary digital tools, and integrating them into her work to create images and typography that were absolutely brand new, razor sharp, and had that sassy American west coast vibe about them, that seemed deeply alluring to me at that time. Since then of course I’ve come to realise that I’m far more interested in the pastoral than the urban, albeit a plastic pastoral generated through the lens of an urban worldview.
Tao therefore takes up the idea of editing the raw data, bit by bit, at the most basic level, the individual pixels. As per Greiman’s advocacy of employing the overtly digital nature of the new tools as an asset, rather than using them merely as a way of recreating analogue tropes more efficiently, in Tao I simply created a flat monotone pixel grid, and then set about editing the serried rows into coloured squares and pattern systems that I felt began to take on some of the language and design of the urban grid systems used to layout many contemporary cities. There’s more than a hint of Mondrian’s Broadway Boogie Woogie here too of course.
These grids or blocks are then set against either a field or a beach, and are finally cut to colour, in some way becoming a little like aerial photos of our post digital terrain. The plastic pastoral of the title. Tao of course speaks about the idea of living in harmony with the natural order, and in that sense these 2 works continue my musings on sustainability, rewilding and regeneration. They aren’t answers in themselves of course, merely visual musings on this place and moment in time.
Tao, in the studio
Print Club blog, February 26th, 2020
“…I was out with a couple of good friends who teach at a local art school recently, and as ever was interested to hear their views. They seem to have an ability to critique work in some seriously interesting ways. Coming away from the evening, and over the following few days, I’ve been ruminating on how the idea of the critique fits with my practice in the studio. The realisation of course is that it’s hard to create, critique, reflect and adjust on works that may be close to your heart, whilst they're still wet. There’s also a tension between making in the moment, later reflection, and some desire to trust the subconscious action of making, as a counter balance to the more sober act of consideration and adjustment. There’s a conflict there, that perhaps sets up the tension required to actually make anything at all.
Much of my recent thinking has been around the idea of how to square the idea of making contemporary work with material, whilst simultaneously being concerned about the climate crisis. This thinking I suspect will continue to dominate my day to day thoughts, perhaps for the rest of my life. It’s certainly rewired the way I think about resource, and where value may lie in the use of that resource.
As ever I find it most useful to think in the 3rd person. Would I want other contemporary practitioners to stop making their work? No. Do I believe that we can slow down significantly, and wait for scientists to resolve some of the issues that are coming to light? Yes. Is there a need for us to continue to evolve our thinking, story telling and creativity. Definitely, stasis is an impossible state. So the answer must be to keep working, but with a mindful eye on production, consumption, and process. The big questions are - is it possible to completely dematerialise the work? And what is the purpose of the work?
The point of course is that the artist is asked to reflect, critique, and act on their production, in a way that is almost unique in modern society. The work must include a more cerebral contemplation, and it is this I think that is creating particular tensions in the contemporary moment. There is a suggestion that if you analyse the current moment acutely, one clear course of action may well be to reduce your material production, and endeavour to work more locally, and certainly for my own part, I am considering switching substantially to works on paper, which are by their nature more sustainable.
As my time in the studio becomes ever more monastic, I feel that perhaps the ultimate outcome of the process is simply to revert to the most simple existence available within the framework of our current time, which may involve substantially withdrawing from consumption beyond core requirements, which of course begs the question what is core?
To simultaneously hold the dichotomous view of valuing production whilst eschewing consumption, entails the high wire act of believing that the production itself holds a benefit at least equal to the cost of the material it consumes. In that sense more substantive consumption of material may require larger societal benefits. And that leads you quickly on to wonder who is to judge!
There’s clearly some need for more thinking here…”
Text from the Print Club blog, February 26th, 2020
About the Print Club
If you’d like to receive three or four exclusive new editions in the post each year, alongside personal news and views from the studio, and invitations to shows and fairs, please do consider becoming a member of my Experimental Print Club. You can join or leave the club at any time, with absolutely no obligation to stay any longer than you want to.
New works are sent out somewhat sporadically throughout the year, often in line with the changing seasons. Each piece is unique, exclusive, and only available on the day it’s editioned, the size of the edition being determined by the number of members on the day.
I hope the club presents a more personal and intriguing way to connect with the studio, by creating a platform for collecting engaging new works for your home. The club is hosted online here, and I send out fairly regular blog posts and emails about the work too. I’d like to think that it’s an interesting proposition!
Membership is currently priced at £36 per month inc. UK delivery, or £42 for an international address.
Associated works
