Woodcutting is the original and most basic technique of image reproduction. I thought it would be fascinating to combine this form with a much newer technique of reproduction by carving a video still into soft wood and then hand-printing the image-a process which can take up to ten months for an individual woodcut.
Video footage of roads and military aircraft is used in order to create a contrast between the rapidity of the video images and the slowness of the technique-between high speed and almost a standstill.
An interesting dichotomy develops between the video as digital imaging, and the woodcut as an analogue image of white and black lines: on-or-off signals. The subject material displays an interest in speed, traffic, and activity, and also in machinery: of the scientific legacy of human beings. But it also highlights a fascination with the voyeuristic nature of humans in times of catastrophe. However it is important that these images are of violence in general and become universal — these planes could be dropping bombs anywhere, this motorway could be anywhere.
These prints can be viewed at the Alan Cristea Gallery, Cork Street, London, W1, or online at www.alancristea.com.
ALL IMAGES © THE ARTIST/ALAN CRISTEA GALLERY, LONDON
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