08
Jul
We’ve begun work on a large (3.5ft by 8ft) woodblock with the members of Taring Padi.
In addition to the technical challenge of working on such a large piece, its been an incredible learning experience in the art of collaboration. Most of Taring Padi’s work responds to social, political, environmental, and economic issues in Indonesia. Through large banner sized woodblock prints they unpack the complexities of these issues with equally complex and layered visual imagery. We’ve been learning about Taring Padi’s collaborative process by being direct participants in it.
They begin with a conversation - “What is our message? Who is our audience? What are the issues we want to communicate?” and through often long discussions, they break down the issues, sub-issues, and map out the connections between them. They then begin sketching - throwing out ideas for composition structures that seem to fit the conversation surrounding their topic and work together to create a visual representation of their desired message.
The carving process is equally collaborative and challenges our western egos and notions of ownership in our work. Everyone sketches together. Everyone carves at the same time. It’s fair game to carve a section that someone else drew and also to edit or change a section that someone is working on. During this process of layering and editing, styles merge and messages connect.
Our block centers around the broad topic of the way humans depend on and abuse their environment - with issues and perspectives from both the United States and Indonesia depicted in the negative space around the mirrored image of a tree with branches and roots.
A sneak peek only for now - stay tuned to see the final product!
Charlie