Looking through the photos that I’ve taken and selectively editing has been pretty exciting. I’ve been experimenting with repetitive pattern, symmetry and the perfection of the circle.
The results plot a journey rather than final pieces. Some remind me of the windows of the cathedral I visited the same day, probably just a subliminal connection though. It’s not surprising, my obsession to find order in chaos is becoming quite a preoccupation and I feel drawn to those who do the same. On a recent visit to the amazing museum in Lille, I spent most of the time looking at the symmetrical designs on 17th century majollica plates, rather than the Goyas and El Grecos on show.
It is important for me to see through the seductive and slick images that have evolved through editing and not lose sight that they must work well as prints, i.e. be translated through woodcut, carborundum and engraving. To be honest, the prospect of physically cutting the plates is quite daunting, I know I will want to experiment as much as possible to discover which technique is best suited to the subject matter, which puts all this screen-based image development into perspective.
It would be more straightforward if I had an outcome fixed in my mind, but I feel it’s important for the work to develop over time and for the original subject to be sourced close to where the final work will be located. I would hope, having experienced this city first-hand, that the sense of this place would permeate the final work and that the shape, form, pattern and colour/tone will echo the original source subject matter, seeming strangely familiar to the viewer.
