VIRTUAL SENIOR SHOW: Abby McPhillips
I have never viewed my art as a solo effort; the pieces I create are a collaboration between myself and the medium I’m working with. The variety of printmaking processes all inherently convey their own nature; visible through the essence left behind from the equipment involved. Each practice holds a visual language waiting to be unearthed. By embracing the medium, my artistic intuition allows me to act as a translator between the tools and the audience thus expressing the silent message of the instruments that are unable to speak for themselves. Their spirit must be illuminated by the movement of an artist. In each technique, the medium and tools utilized play as significant a part in the final piece as the artist themselves.
Printmaking is the outlet through which I express the world I inhabit mentally. This series of work focuses on bringing an intangible realm to a physical one. Through the use of printmaking I am able to externalize the environment my consciousness occupies. These pieces each hold fragments of my life; the experiences and thoughts that I held at the time of creation are observable in the intentional and subconscious aesthetic choices made in each piece. The assorted styles in this collection reflect the undulation of self in my life; this self wavers and evolves throughout my pieces, sometimes completely straying away from what it has known and other times recalling its past identity.
Title: “Mobile Home”
Medium: Screenprint
Year:2019
Description: This print depicts the movement of home and how its meaning is ever evolving. I've had lots of houses growing up but only ever a few homes. I find home within the people I love and the emotions I carry, though not always tangible home is always traveling beside me.
Title: “Stick ‘em Up”
Medium: Lithograph and Digital Drawing
Year: 2019
Description: I often find myself stuck overthinking the imagery I want to present in my work but this print depicts the playful side of my mind. The octopus is holding the gun up as if to say “Put the pencil down and relax”.
Title: “Shadows”
Medium: Lithograph
Year: 2019
Description:My intention through this piece was to express a feeling of darkness or discomfort. The creature emerging from the shadows is meant to represent the scary or intrusive thoughts that can creep in even in a place or body of comfort.
Title: “Confusion”
Medium: Lithograph
Year: 2019
Description: This image was created after a long period of artist’s block. It’s meant to portray the frustration and confusion that I was feeling at the time and how it overtook all of my thoughts. The head can often feel empty even when it is overflowing with ideas.
Title: “Landmark”
Medium: Woodcut Reduction Print
Year: 2019
Description: This piece is composed of two woodblocks both following a three color reduction process. The image is meant to be contrasting in color but united by forms and movements inspired by the music that gets me by day to day.
Title: “Morning Routine”
Medium: Woodcut Reduction Print
Year: 2019
Description: This is a seven color reduction print. It is a graphic illustration of how life feels and how thoughts manifest when meandering through a morning routine. Mornings almost don’t feel real to me, I wanted to convey the daze I fall into upon awakening and getting ready for my day.
Title: “Clutter”
Medium: Pronto Plate Print
Year: 2020
Description: This piece is an illustration of the pantry inside of my home. My pantry is the most overwhelming and cluttered aspect of my house but there’s just something about it that I find comforting. It is a part of my everyday life and I wanted to immortalize its essence before I moved out.
Title: “Sane”
Medium: Woodcut Reduction Print
Year:2020
Description: The pandemic has been a strenuous time for many including myself, I found that in this time prioritizing my mental heath was a necessity. This piece is meant to represent the undulations of thought and the attempt at maintaining sanity when in times of difficulty.