Hello! It’s been a while since my last update; I’ve been deep in the bat cave working on three (3!) book projects that are all done now. I’m really pleased with how they’ve turned out, and I’m looking forward to taking a lil break and catching up.
This post is about a really great exhibition that I made some work for back in May.
Inside Feelings
Earlier this year, my partner (in love and crime), Clare, organised an exhibition with a dozen or so friends and aging illustrators, living both past and present, in Bristol. She wanted to put on a show to get everyone together and make some non-internet artworks.
The name of the exhibition was inside feelings, and it was about just that. Everyone made work in different mediums and with different takes on the theme.
Because I’m annoying and also indecisive, I wanted to make two things: something 3D and also a print of some kind.
And because I’m also naively optimistic, I decided to make a series of prints using a method I’d never tried before - cyanotypes.
Cyanotypes
If you don’t know the process of cyanotypes it goes a bit like this: You mix up two chemicals to create a light-sensitive emulsion, paint it on paper, and lay it in the sun with your design on top. After a few minutes (and a quick bath) it turns a beautiful blue. Where your negative was, the paper stays white.
For the designs, I wanted them to come together intuitively. Instead of planning each one, I borrowed the process of making this zine, creating a library of my own illustrations, line drawings, found typography, and vintage images. This way I could assemble collages that resonated with the theme of inside feelings.
Those images turned out to be a lot of brains, existential musings, and a fair bit of rumination.
Headache
For the 3D piece, I wanted to make something mechanical. It was uncharted territory for me, but I thought an analogue contraption would be a fun addition to the exhibition space.
I drew this sketch/diagram which kind of summed up how the last few years have sometimes felt to me*…
I love making things in wood, and so I thought I could construct most of it that way. The mechanical parts were trickier. Fortunately, my studio mate Kathy is a pro in that area and helped devise a simple motor design to power the hammer.
Assembling all the components was a bit of a puzzle — lots of head-scratching to make it work, align, and look good, but ultimately very satisfying… unlike the sensation of being hit repeatedly over the head with a comedy mallet.
* disclaimer: I am very lucky and happy and also fine
The Exhibition
Of course, everyone else made incredible work for the show. Big paintings, comics, a giant felt head, prints, ceramics… and it was a beautiful thing to have everyone together and helping each other out. It felt a tad emo to see how everyone’s work has evolved (as they have too) over the last 10+ years of living here.
We’re doing it the same time next year if you can make it!
I will leave you with some photos of the private view (thanks to Jo Hounsome for the photos).
