Mark Grills
In a lot of my previous work, I worked around the manipulation of paper, which is typically used as a drawing base. I found a new way to construct paper giving it a structure yet still allowing for the fragility of the paper itself. I took this and incorporated it in printmaking, turning the arrangement into a 2D piece, flattening the structure itself.
Working mainly in print, I focused on working with black and white allowing for the dark and light properties of paper structures to be visualised. I always take two prints from the same stencil as I enjoy getting the ghost print because it reveals parts of the stencil that was not there previously.
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Recently I have been looking into colour, studying the psychological effects of colour when dealing with identity. My work is a reflection of my own selfhood projected onto the paper, which portrays my embodied and emotional experience.
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My work revolves around different mental illnesses, and I portray these giving each a specific colour, using screen-printing as my main technique. I wanted to portray this as mental illness is something that cannot be seen, it is only felt, and projecting this onto paper gives it a visualisation. Mental illness can be a struggle for a lot of people that suffer from its many forms, and I found that being able to see it gives a sense of euphoria and understanding.
You can follow more of his work by visiting his website or by clicking the links below:
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