With this one I wanted to make something influenced by the the slogan- and icon-based tendencies of 70s pop art.
I also just wanted a kick-ass shirt that says 'pussy' in a language nobody I know can read. Because I'm a big raging homo.
I also just wanted a kick-ass shirt that says 'pussy' in a language nobody I know can read. Because I'm a big raging homo.
I'd experimented with this limited tone, xerox-inspired style before, and this was my first time consciously incorporating the imperfections that emerge in these analogue print-making processes, as well as technical artefacts like calibration patterns.
These elements of roughness are also an homage to the punk DIY tradition, and the surge of home-brew zines, t-shirts, posters and street art that came out of the 70s following the newfound accessibility of processes like screen printing and xerox. In the following decades the means of production had become less of a barrier than ever to getting your message out there, and expending time or effort on polishing away the marks of the process wasn't really on anybody's agenda (not that these zines weren't a hotbed for some super inventive product design). The result is a tradition of gorgeously tactile products that scream, 'somebody made me because they had something to say'.
I wanted to say pussy. Pussy's pretty great.
The second variation of the caption was kindly provided by the good people of Reddit, whom I had asked for the Russian equivalent of 'no thoughts head empty.'
I was lucky enough to get to print this design as part of a TAFE taster course (I told the instructor the Russian meant 'void' or 'blankness' or smth ;) ). Given the resources I'd love to revisit printmaking someday, maybe experiment with real imperfections and 'glitches' in the process and see what kinda funky results come out :))
