Twelve Angels was created in the spacecraft studio by Stewart Russell.
recollections on the origins of the idea:
It was a sunday, I was rearranging a bookcase when I came across an old
sketchbook... full of ideas for artworks, diagrams and descriptions. It was
from a long time ago, probably only a year or two out of art college. Some of
the projects had been realised, but I stopped at an idea I’d almost completely
forgotten. There were about six pages of notes and sketches of Angels, I
was trying to link an essay by Walter Benjamin, I guess 1940’s, and the Wim
Wenders movie, Wings of Desire which would’ve been early 80’s. On the last
page I’d scribbled down a line on Walter Benjamin’s critique of a Paul Klee
drawing...
“ the angel of history - being drawn inexorably into the future by progress, but
travelling forward into the future looking backwards - facing our history”.
Then Grace and Flora came back and I realised the bookcase would have to
wait for another day - so I grabbed the camera and we went in search of Angels.
The process of recreating a photograph as a screen print is underpinned by creating a
halftone film from a continuous tone photograph. From that point, once the image is on
screen you can begin to explore the possibilities.
One evening, after a long session of testing print qualities, we were looking at a wall of
prints and discussing how to proceed. Then an idea emerged, pehaps we could show
the range of processes. So rather than making a decision on a single approach I decided
to make twelve Angels, created individually using sections of the studio backing cloth,
elaborately layered botanical imagery, masks, stencils, transparent and semi opaque
washes or simply priming fabric highlighting the qualities of the photograph.
Thanks to the spacecraft team that worked on this project, Clara Gladstone, Marina Breit
and Danielle Smyth.
Twelve Angels NOW IN STORES
spacecraft studio - new work
contact studio to discuss / view (03) 9329 4129
