ShePeril | A Seduction by Line
Devolution
A passing down or descent through successive stages of time or a process.
Transference, as of rights or qualities, to a successor.
A transfer of powers from a central government to local units.
Degeneration.
The act of rolling down.
Transference from one person to another; a passing or devolving upon a successor.
A descent, especially one that passes through a series of revolutions, or by succession.
I make what I want to see in the world. Answering a desire to capture what it feels like to be in my own body, experiencing time and space in a visceral way, free from expectation, whether those expectations are from others or myself, and the outcome free from judgement..
For nearly twenty years, I have been using vector drawings in my work. I mainly use screen printing to transfer the line drawings from the computer to my paintings or prints. This usually involves making a transparency to expose onto the screen.
For the last couple of years, the transparencies themselves became an actor in the course of my printmaking. Much of the imagery for Devolution was “discovered’ when I noticed the dialogue between my overlapping transparencies scattered on my work table in preparation to expose screens. They were suggesting all kinds of figures, body parts, and animal beings, so I began shooting snapshots with my phone as I reconfigured the transparencies on my table. I consider those snapshots as source material for the entire series.
In addition to screen printing, I have added monoprint, mokulito, photo-etching and photopolymer intaglio to my tool kit, printing on a variety of materials while trying to evoke the mysterious subjects that revealed themselves that day.
I credit an early attraction to old master drawing, engraving, and the printed mark for why these line drawings have held my attention for so long. Ultimately, reflecting a female experience in the world, I value the importance of engaging someone’s imagination without telling them what to think, and offering room for the imagination to move around freely. I encourage getting comfortable with the idea that we can’t know everything.
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