Previous AA2A Artist

Clare Phelan

Artform:
printmaker
Year:
2021-22
Influences:
inspired by 19th & 20th century coding technology, working directly with industrial artefacts - exposing stories of man & machine
Social link:
Project summary:

I work directly with nineteenth and twentieth century coding technologies such as textile jacquards music box discs and IBM punch cards. These 'host' materials have presence and a history. Faded and sometimes fragile, often rusted, warped, pungent, ripped and tom, they impact upon the senses and are the ancestors of our digital world.

I'm interested in the idea of a 'cultural lag' in terms of human understanding and advancing technology. It's easy to feel fear, frustration and a sense of being left behind, as our lives become increasingly mediated through machines.

Socio-cultural evolution is much slower than technological change and cultural manifestations of technology often outlast their material use. Part of my interest lies in the cultural messages concealed within the artefacts. An example of this is found in the phrase 'Do Not Fold Spindle Or Mutilate' which was printed on IBM punch cards. This emo­tive statement became a metaphor for alienation and dehumanisation as part of American 1960's counterculture.

The AA2A scheme would offer me the opportunity to work on a new body of larger scale prints, and provide me with access to Photo Etching facilities, which I do not have in my own studio. I welcome the opportunity to engage with students and staff and would enjoy sharing my skills in working with found objects as printmaking materials in Col­lagraph and Photo Etch processes. I have exhibited and shown my work in a number of different Galleries and Art Fair settings and would happily share my 'real world' experiences with students. A conceptual approach retains cen­tral to my practice and I would see the evolution of my thinking as an integral part of work completed within the scheme.

I work directly with nineteenth and twentieth century coding technologies such as textile jacquards music box discs and IBM punch cards. These 'host' materials have presence and a history. Faded and sometimes fragile, often rusted, warped, pungent, ripped and tom, they impact upon the senses and are the ancestors of our digital world.

I'm interested in the idea of a 'cultural lag' in terms of human understanding and advancing technology. It's easy to feel fear, frustration and a sense of being left behind, as our lives become increasingly mediated through machines.

Socio-cultural evolution is much slower than technological change and cultural manifestations of technology often outlast their material use. Part of my interest lies in the cultural messages concealed within the artefacts. An example of this is found in the phrase 'Do Not Fold Spindle Or Mutilate' which was printed on IBM punch cards. This emo­tive statement became a metaphor for alienation and dehumanisation as part of American 1960's counterculture.

The AA2A scheme would offer me the opportunity to work on a new body of larger scale prints, and provide me with access to Photo Etching facilities, which I do not have in my own studio. I welcome the opportunity to engage with students and staff and would enjoy sharing my skills in working with found objects as printmaking materials in Col­lagraph and Photo Etch processes. I have exhibited and shown my work in a number of different Galleries and Art Fair settings and would happily share my 'real world' experiences with students. A conceptual approach retains cen­tral to my practice and I would see the evolution of my thinking as an integral part of work completed within the scheme.

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