Meet me at the edge of infinity

Ho, Wuon-Gean

Abstract

Colourful rainbow rolls, subtle blends, smoky à la poupée and shimmering bokashi appear in many types of print. These colour gradients are a continuous and gradual transformation from one colour to another, with no clear boundaries. They are a visual representation of the non-binary. In our screen-dominated worlds, the colour gradient stands in parallel with the end-of-a-movie fade-to-black: an emotional preparation for shift in perspective, a pause in the narrative. The colour blend destabilises the viewer’s stance, pushing and pulling the eye in and out of the picture. The colour gradient can signify joy and celebration, commercial appeal, cybernetic punk, and speak of luxury and excess.

This paper reflects upon the following

1) How colour gradients are produced technically, with particular emphasis on mokuhanga and the rainbow roll in screenprint and lithography, and their historical use in directing attention across a printed image

2) The method by which colour gradients imitate the gleam of light on water, inject a pop of subversive colour and control a sense of depth, air and atmosphere

3) How colour gradients ensnare the viewer in the viewed: a psychological exploration of why the depiction of light is so seductive and alluring and how the depiction of darkness can be filled with drama and mystery.

The colour blend is an antidote to the screen-based pixelated image that we have become so familiar with in recent years. It is a physical object, made with a shift in colour pigment concentrations on the surface of the paper, with a materiality and presence that celebrates the analogue.

• Presentation Conference Type: Conference Paper (unpublished)
• Conference Name: IMPACT 12 Printmaking Conference
• Start Date: Sep 19, 2022
• End Date: Sep 24, 2022
• Deposit Date: Dec 5, 2022
• Keywords: print, colour blend, bokashi, gradient, analogue
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/10222495
• Related Public URLs: To watch the presentation, please see here:; https://vimeo.com/754456770; ; https://cfpr.uwe.ac.uk/impact-12-the-printmakers-voice/