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Lino Prints.....

After looking at woodcut and etching last year, I've decided to explore different relief printing this year, more specifically Lino printing. I had done some Lino prints years ago and also for the BALLOT Exhibition and I really enjoy doing them, they are easy to cut out and look a lot more cleaner than a woodcut print. I'm also exploring different slogans and imagery this year and wanted to develop my skills in this type of relief printing, especially when it comes to cutting out the image. 

 For this Lino print I decided to cut out the female gender symbol with a fist in the centre and flowers surrounding it, kind of suggesting the power and strength that can come from femininity and being a woman. I did some drawings of this design before I cut it out as I wanted to see how it would look before hand. It looked really cool and effective, and I managed to cut it out quite well. The lines were clean and you could tell what  the image was which is always good. I think I still need a bit more practice, and maybe a steadier hand but otherwise I'm getting there. I then went and printed this on top of collages and on it's own. I think the image itself is strong. It's also an image which is used quite a bit in the feminist community, if you google feminism you'll most likely see this type of imagery, so to do multiple prints of this image demonstrates the idea that these logos are highly replicable and can be seen as a form of activism?

 I also decided to experiment with text as I had done so in my sketch book and printed on top of some rude insults that are mainly directed at females. I first got the idea for this while I was reading Rebecca Solnit's 'Men Explain Things to Me And Other Essays'  & 'Full Frontal Feminism' by Jessica Valenti, as the most recurring word I noticed was the word ugly and I felt that as this word and others are so commonly used against us, why not make it our own and cover it with positive imagery and print on top and really just change the reading of these words completely. They came out fairly well, and did prompt some questions when I presented them in my presentation in front of the group, which was interesting and in a way my aim for these images. I want people to question and read these images in their own way, while also understanding the meaning and message behind them. 

 I then decided to add to the design and cut some text on either side of the symbol - 'OUR BODIES, OUR RULES.' as I felt this was appropriate because of recent events in Hollywood and all over the internet - (Harvey Weinstein Allegations), and because of the recent rulings in America which seem to control how women use birth control, which should not be the case as we women should have every right to choose what and how to take birth control. I have also experienced slight harassment and judgement of my character because of my gender, for example I have been called bossy, aggressive, abrupt and abrasive even though I was in the same kind of job as my male peers, as well as having guys cat call me and so on, so wanted to create something that would draw attention to these issues that women tend to face every day. 

 Things to do next: 
*start another Lino? - research different imagery? create my own image?
*experiment with text and image
*collage further - using specific imagery and text










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