Lino Cut Finals in Red

I chose the colour red for the ink of my lino prints onto the off white Somerset paper. I chose this for a number of reasons: 

• I wanted to avoid using black and white, even this would look dramatic and powerful I didn't think it would be the best colour to reflect Indian art or culture. It definitely wouldn't be reflective of the colours I witnessed there.
• I thought that red was probably the next, if not more so, most powerful and dramatic colour in most cultures, it being the colour of blood.
• Most significantly it was the importance of the colour red in Indian, and specifically Hindu culture: the colour red is commonly associated with love and passion. In Indian context, red is also connected to the rising sun. Besides, according to astrology, the planet in charge of marriages, Mars, is red in colour. Therefore, Hindu brides are asked to wear red during the wedding proceedings since it stands for prosperity and fertility. I thought this colour choice would help to add impact and a way of connecting media to the content of the prints.

Overall I am really happy with my final resolutions for my FMP brief as they are reflective of most of my practice to date and they have managed to incorporate key elements mentioned in my statement of intent such as colour, pattern, mark making, line work, nature and people. Hopefully a few of them show emotion too! Depending on what you read into them. Obviously they are more understandable if you have some knowledge of the Hindu faith but even if you don't hopefully the rest of the modern day image will have something to offer.
I personally love the imperfect quality that the effect of lino has. I think the prints look recognisable enough to be a scene but are simultaneously a collection of simple line work and shapes.

Unfortunately I started cutting the prints down before they had completely finished drying so because they were not dry I did not want to risk scanning them but here is the set of prints photographed...

Follow the link below to my ISSUU document of my final prints: