Printed Myth
Printed Myth explores the visual language of cultural heritage, particularly that of tangible culture present in works of art and artefacts. This series, a collection of portrait imagery, attempts to create a more contemporary narrative of the past by changing images of antiquity into high-contrast graphic art.
The human form has been utilized as a means of expression for millennia, and very little rivals the human experience than expressions present in the human face.
Although our current knowledge of antiquity is still incomplete, tangible data does not provide the only means with which to connect to the past, and more importantly, our humanity. The expressions present in the imagery still provide a means for a contemporary viewer to connect with a visage from the ancient past, even if it is momentary.
Much of the selected source imagery is sculpture. The selection has been carefully curated from photos taken of the actual objects from museums that have been
travelled to both domestically and afar. The resulting two-dimensional interpretations are relief prints. This not only helps to maintain a consistency with the high contrast compositions, but also pays some tribute to the traditional methods of creating sculpture via carving. The paper’s sepia colour is hand stained, sometimes achieving a wood grained pattern. In other instances, the result might be a small, soft bubbled effect. The choice of blue ink is purely aesthetic.