Down to Earth

Clouds are unfixed, universal, in perpetual movement, visible but intangible, constantly changing in form, encouraging diverse interpretation, generators of imagination.

As printmakers we have a constant awareness of elements such as the paper’s edge, its texture, its weight and its variety of tones. We consider the way in which inks sit upon or are absorbed into its surface. The paper itself in its virgin form exists as a blank page to be filled, a vehicle for thought.

We propose to create a paper skyscape; to superimpose thoughts surrounding the form of the cloud upon a consideration of the materiality of paper and ink in order to explore the shifting nature of thought.

Through destroying and reconstructing hand-printed imagery we will play with the idea of materialising the immaterial.

Our images of clouds will be drawn from multiple sources: our own photographs, online image banks and printed media. We are interested in the universality of the cloud, in its intangibility and evasion of ownership. Do British clouds belong to the British, or Chinese clouds to the Chinese? Is there any difference between French and Israeli clouds?

We will screen-print our clouds on paper, using muted greys and blues, subtle and suggestive tones. We will then tear through our printed clouds and roll the torn strips of paper to create free-standing scrolls of varying heights, in a cyclical process of construction and destruction.We hope to create a space for contemplation, navigation and cloud-gazing.

Our proposal has been selected to create a print-based installation for a group exhibition with the University of Applied Arts Vienna, entitled Thought Machines. We are interested in the malleability of the cloud and its potential to fuel imagination and generate ideas. We will create a freestanding cloudscape on the floor of the exhibition space for the viewer to wander through. Engaging simultaneously in a process of construction and destruction, we hope to question the printmaking process itself. It is an exciting opportunity to work collaboratively, and to push the boundaries of print – creating a work which will stand for itself, not supported by a frame on the wall.

The exhibition opens on 20 November 2013 and will run for a month. However, we see this as a potentially extendable roaming project, which can tour and be reinstalled in any number of locations in the future. Clouds are unfixed and as such, our project is also moveable and adaptable. As a part of this project we plan to publish a series of postcards to be taken freely from the gallery space. There is the potential of taking it through each of our home countries: China, France and Israel. The postcards will also provide an extension to the life of the project, with members of the public sending their cards back to the artists.