Abstract

This research explores the use of hand printed surfaces upon digital prints with the aim of creating a dialogue about authenticity and the virtual. Through the combination of digital drawing and representational printed matter, the work aims to further the understanding of the practical possibilities of the relationship between digital media and traditional processes. The enquiry culminated in a series of works on paper that combined elements of digital production, printmaking and textured elements (silkscreen, flocking, gold leaf, woodcut and gloss).
The research was initiated by the digital rendering of objects within a virtual environment. The drawings took as their form recognizable everyday objects that could be interpreted as representations of the functional, the overlooked and discarded. These objects were subjected to a metamorphosis within the virtual space of a computer, the resulting new combinations intend to suggest an evolution of the object and a transcendence of their reality by referencing art historical and religious contexts. This mimicking of references alongside the imitation of texture proposes to create questions for the viewer about the authenticity of the imagery within a digitally influenced age.
In response to these works I was asked to contribute to the ‘Talking Prints’ program at the ArtLab Contemporary Print within the University of Central Lancashire : ‘These multi-media pieces had the skill and precision of a master printmaker and all the luminosity of the highest quality digital print. Oran’s visit left us all feeling inspired by the potential of combining the digital and traditional mediums when so many artists often see them as different worlds’.* Works form this series have been exhibited at Toomey Tourell Gallery, SanFrancisco, and selected for the Royal Academy Summer exhibitions in 2008, 2009 and 2010. As a result these works have been exhibited alongside prominent artists including Adam Dant, Vanessa Jackson and Louise Bourgeois.
*quote from ArtLab Contemporary website.