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Exhibition Project Proposal and Tentative plan 

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Exhibition Project Proposal and Tentative plan 

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I took some notes during the demonstration so that I would be able to pick up on the details when trying to bind the books myself in the induction. I didn't know there's specific intricacies and details that are involved in the nature of the bindings, like waxed thread helps to ease sewing the books together so the holes doesn't enlarge and keeps the books intact, and that theres specific steps and order in sewing the books. One thing that stood out to me was dedicating different 'workstations', like having a space dedicated to working with glue, and the other just for folding, that way everything is neat and tidy.

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During the times I wait for the screen to dry or where I have 10-20 minutes to spare, I start planning out the goals that I need to achieve for the day, but also thinking ahead of what I needed to do. I usually plot down all of my schedules and workshop bookings for the week so I can consult it in my sketchbook during the breaks so I can know if I am on or behind schedule. However, I also plan digitally that way I can adjust and view my schedule anywhere.

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For my first draft, I decided I wanted the illustration to be continuous, which meant if I connect the illustration into a circular shape, the illustration would be seamless. In order to do that, I split the first illustration into two and placed the other half at the end of it.

I wasn't sure whether I will be happy with screenprinting as this will be my first time, so I decided to go with a test design. I knew that this would require a lot of time, but this would determine whether it is appropriate for me to work with screenprinting as part of the process for my project.

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I split the first image into two, then put each section at the beginning and the end to create a seamless illustration when out together. This was the only part of the illustration where I traced over the outline and placement of the image as this would help me align it with the other side. For the mistakes that I made, like smudging, I realised that I can remove it with acetone and a cotton bud, which I used when there are mistakes that are opaque enough to affect exposure process to make the screen.

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Via- "IT'S LIKE A TATTOO": Rethinking Dominant Discourses on Grief

Robyn L. Ord (JSTOR)

"The strong desire of mourners to tell their own story, unedited and un-policed by others, is in part driven by resistance to medicalization" (Walter, 2000, p. 1 10).

Most therapeutic storylines about grief are about coping, symptoms, and returning to normality.

The body plays a crucial role in how we experience and respond to everyday life.

"The body implies mortality, vulnerability, agency: the skin and the flesh expose us to the gaze

of others, but also to touch, and to violence, and bodies put us at risk o

becoming the agency and instrument of all these as well" (Butler, 2004,

p. 26

Individuals grieve, cope with, and experience loss in many ways, and these experiences are worthy of exploration and re-imagination. Sometimes grief does not look the way we feel it should. Sometimes it is colourful. Sometimes we can taste it; smell it; hear it. Sometimes it can be permanent. Sometimes we can feel others' grief just by looking at them- their bodies, their photos, their artwork, their artefacts. Maybe it is in their

eyes.

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in order to connect to the other side of the illustration I curled the entire drafting film around the greyboard that I was using as a backing so that I could align it with the othe side of the illustration. This way both sides are accurate and are aligned.

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after research which flowers were the best suited for each stage in the buddhist philosphy, I started to create a digital collage so that I can illustrate it.

After consulting with the screenprinting technicians, they told me that I can work on developing my positive using the drafting film directly, as it comes in a roll, which means I can custom it to the size that I want easily. This also means that I can illustrate it by hand, rather than doing it digitally.

I decided to choose images through google image that showcases the flower's shape and form and use it to build a rough composition of the placement and flow within each section.

my initial design was too big for the paper that the workshop provided, so I decided to redraw and resize everything. I decided to build the collage on illustrator, where I can focus on scale. The size of the artboard is the same size as the paper that I am working with, and the square on the side of the first artboard is the width that I am working with, which I measured to be the portrait length of an A3 sheet. I added it as a reference when collaging to see if it lines up properly and I can refer back to it when looking at the big picture.

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I tested the opacity of the linework that I did using the lightbox in the screenprinting studio. This was done to ensure that when developing and exposing the emulsion in the darkroom the lines are dark enough to stop the light from coming through, this way the linework will be transferred into the screen properly. I went over any of the lines that were slightly grey and transparent.

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the technician took this picture for me, but this is the size of the screen that I am working with, it is around the same height as me, and possibly 60-70cm wide. it definitely felt intimidating to use and I struggled with it a lot as I wasn't that well versed in screen printing, which I then had to rely on the technicians to teach me how to clean and apply the emulsion. I felt guilty that I had to rely on them a lot, but over the course of being in the workshop I was able to start cleaning and prepping my screens with confidence.

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I realized that the size of the screen was too big for the paper that they offer in the workshop. I went to print finishing downstairs to ask for a sample of their paper. This paper is for litho printing, but it was long enough for me to do a test print because it came from a roll. Immediately I knew that I had to rescale my illustration because this would be the only paper option that I had, which is 170-200gsm and is very bright white. When I returned to the screenprinting workshop I then cut the piece of paper into two so that it can be printed.

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this is the full print on the litho paper. The full length for this piece is around 1.5m, which was too long for the paper that the workshop offers.

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I tested silver ink on black paper as well, which resulted in this effect. The illustration filled the entire length of the paper and cut some parts of the full illustration out. As this was the initial print I wanted to print and experiment with as many inks and paper as possible. In the end I used many paper samples including ones that the technician brought from the storage, but also papers that range from 200-300gsm.

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Since I am working on such a big design, I couldn't use the squeegee normally, I had to use the big squeegee and attach it to the arm of the screenprinting press. This resulted in a lot of issues in the beginning as I wasn't able to put in the pressure correctly, resulting in thinning lines at the edges of the design. flooding was also quite difficult for me as the screen was also quite heavy, so for most of the time it was a two-person effort.

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This time, I decided to fill the entire board with the drafting film instead of leaving it into sections because I realized that I had issues with adjusting to scale and size for the pieces. knowing that this is half of the whole drafting film sheet made me estimate the size and placement of the design easier.

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this was the full illustration for the first design.

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these are the positives that I drew in preparation to develop the screens. I decided to draw as many positives in one go so that I can retain the uniformity of the linework. These are all tested on a lightbox for the opacity.

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Installation at Somerset House. I decided to participate in Bo's installation, which was about observing and appreciating the surroundings. Through observing and drawing the bamboo leaves, stems and the environment around it, the audience is encouraged to return the illustration back to the box, which will be taken into compost to fertilize the garden in the installation, reflecting the cyclical ecosystem of creativity and ecology within the installation.

I found this piece to be absolutely beautiful. Partly because it was a sunny day, I was able to draw in the shadows and observe the bamboo plants as it interacted with the space and light. The beauty in the piece is about cyclicality. Likewise with my work, how things begin and end situates in this piece, and it was refreshing to see how the audience can interact with the piece, soon contributing to the ecosystem that the artist sets in place.

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I decided to print on 250 and 270gsm, for around 5 sheets each I was able to produce good and bad copies for each screen. the past week I was able to print 2/4 designs.

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as a test I started to cut the 250gsm print as a test to see the structural integrity and how it would fold. Bookbinding told me that the best thickness would be 300+gsm, but I knew that I couldn't cut by hand. However, since I wanted to see how the concertina binding works with the papercut details, I tested this prototype out.

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I used a bulldog clip to hold the folds together before using a bonefolder to fold the pages accurately. I found this to be quite difficult especially with details that were sticking out or strands around the area. However, I realized that with this method I was able to achieve better quality and uniform folds.

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The prototype turned out to actually be better than I expected. I used a bad print to test it out as I didn't want to ruin the better versions of the prints in case I folded it badly or cut it wrong, in this case I felt more at ease to experiment with how to fold it and I didn't have to put that much stress into folding as this was still at the stage of trial and error. I decided to leave the edges of the pieces uncut in case I decide to connect all 4 panels together. In this case, I believe that I will leave all the edges uncut before sticking them all together in hopes that I could create a seamless fold.

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For the induction I was learned how to do a dos-a-dos binding, which is suited for a dual narrative or having two stories in one book. This technique was easier than I thought, especially since it supports complex narrative. I found that my biggest struggle was aligning all the folds together so it was uniform.

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this is the reason why I was added to this induction, in order for me to learn how fold and build my project, I needed to know my fundamentals in book binding. In which I found this binding to be quite complex, given that there are certain steps folds that needed to be considered, and also the way the book unfolds. However, I did also find binding the hardcover quite challenging as well, in the end I was able to create a product and that gave me some optimism in understanding what I needed to do for this project. I understood that for this project I needed two things: the body of the book, and the covers.

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attending Leigh's print club has given me a lot of references and ideas that can help me develop my work even more. In this case, after seeing my work, Leigh showed me one of the print examples that he had. In which this is a Ruinart book which had illustration, and papercut elements. However, Leigh wanted to showcase this piece as an example to demonstrate how papercutting can be mechanised through lasercutting, evident through the burn marks and ashes surrounding the cut area. In which one of his advices were to try lasercutting, in this way it can be produced at a larger scale and I can make editions from the prints I produced. I think it is very insightful to see how print can be scaled and produced, especially when it came to a piece that required a lot of labor and detail.

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After spending a couple days in the screenprinting workshop last week, I was able to start laerning how and why my prints turned out that way, and how to solve it if it wasn't the desired effect. In this case, in the printing of a new screen that I developed I found that the ink and linework was very thin. Both the technician and I thought it was more of a pressure thing, so we changed squeegees and then printed again, however the issue still persisted.

This is when I learned that it was actually the ink itself. When I was printing it created these marks that indicated that the ink was used and manipulated too much, losing elasticity. Because I was working on such a large area the ink became very inelastic and became harder to print.

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The first ink was the one on top, which I have been using and scraping back since last week. The ink at the bottom is the newly mixed that I made. I stuck with the same ratio of ink to solution, 1:1 solution to main opacity.

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After washing the screen and mixing the inks, I decided to test print on more newsprint before going for the actual paper. Luckily the thinness of the line soon was solved- creating a uniform and cleaner look.

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I actually found monday's session to be extremely tiring. I was in the studio for the whole day, and while I believe that other people are also in the studio the whole day as well, I understand that my screen and project is more physically demanding. To move, clean, set up and print with my screen is very tiring, especially if I am doing that for the whole day, which is why after working on my last positive in the evening of monday, I decided to cancel tuesday's bookings, that way I can dedicate my energy to create better linework for my positive, but also go into wednesday's workshop with enough energy to produce the last prints. Luckily I knew that I could stay until 8pm on wednesdays, which is why I also believe that I can expose and develop my screens and print in the same day, as I already cleaned the screen and prepared for it on monday.

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Since the print was too big, I made notes about the adjustments that needed to be done with the design, like what I needed to change, what paper I am using and the dimensions of it so I can mock up the size and illustrate so it fits the dimensions properly.

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to keep myself productive for the week, I dedicated goals for each workshop that I attended, especially when it was something that required a lot of time, I needed to spare any mishaps and wait times as part of the things I considered when planning out the week. Cleaning and drying takes 30 minutes, while applying emulsion, cleaning the equipment and drying takes around 30 minutes as well. After exposing the positive, cleaning out the screen and drying also takes around 15 minutes, which already takes out half of the hours that each screenprinting session has. Which gives me 1.5 hours to print, however, setting up takes around 15 minutes for me given the size of my screen, and cleaning the screen for me also takes 20 minutes due to the size of it. Which is why I need to allocate and divide my time the best that I can with how unpredictable the workshop environment is.

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After one-on-one tutorials with tutors during the studio lab, I was able to gain insight into the requirements of the exhibition and what I needed to do to improve my work. One of the tutors suggested I work with the silver ink on black paper as the exhibition piece itself. I was told to consult emily as this piece soon became a 3D and installation piece.

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These were the notes that I took from the feedback that I got from Leigh. It was very detailed but after talking with Leigh I got a thorough understanding of what I needed to do next. In this case it was talking to lasercutting, which I have enquired whether cutting 250gsm paper is possible.

However, given the constraints of the time and scheduling with the workshop, I soon deducted that the best way for me to approach this feedback is to apply it to the exhibition. In which Leigh did mention that these can be made into editions, which through lasercutting would speed up the production.

But, I will stick to papercutting by hand for the final major project submission.

My next steps are:

discussing paper compatibility with lasercutting

photographing and vectorising the illustrations

creating outlines so that it is compatible with RUBY

aligning and calibrating the design with the lasercutter

bring in test designs, adjust and bring in final designs

Lisa told me that it would be very difficult if I were to papercut, and then print on it as the ridges and cutouts of the paper would interfere with the squeegee and make printing more difficult.

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Stommel, Jesse. “The Loveliness of Decay: Rotting Flesh, Literary Matter, and Dead Media.” Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts, vol. 25, no. 2/3 (91), 2014, pp. 332–46. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/24353032. Accessed 7 May 2024.

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The Loveliness of Decay: Rotting Flesh, Literary Matter, and Dead Media

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The Loveliness of Decay: Rotting Flesh, Literary Matter, and Dead Media

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highlighted notes

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Bond, George D. “Theravada Buddhism’s Meditations on Death and the Symbolism of Initiatory Death.” History of Religions, vol. 19, no. 3, 1980, pp. 237–58. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/1062469. Accessed 7 May 2024.

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Theravada Buddhism's Meditations on Death and the Symbolism of Initiatory Death

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Theravada Buddhism's Meditations on Death and the Symbolism of Initiatory Death

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highlighted notes