My paper works are woven from pre-printed papers that have been run through a shredder or sliced apart by hand. I recombine them into patterns of text, color, image fragments, and the over-under texture of the weaving method. The process of weaving both strengthens the paper and obscures the character of source material as each strip covers and reveals segments in an over-under process.
By layering my own dry-point and linocut images (printed on translucent tengucho) over the weaving, I retain the fragmentary patterns from weaving while suppressing readability to varying degrees. My monoprints depict simple identities, events, or activities. My intent is to allow woven vestiges of what came before to act like subconscious memory and intrude on even the most straight forward image and interpretation. Presence and the mark of what came before co-exist in a single visual moment as a reminder of all that informs any moment, experience, or life.
on instagram -- @mikesweeneyart -- @_marginnotes_
website -- https://www.mikesweeneyartist.com
By layering my own dry-point and linocut images (printed on translucent tengucho) over the weaving, I retain the fragmentary patterns from weaving while suppressing readability to varying degrees. My monoprints depict simple identities, events, or activities. My intent is to allow woven vestiges of what came before to act like subconscious memory and intrude on even the most straight forward image and interpretation. Presence and the mark of what came before co-exist in a single visual moment as a reminder of all that informs any moment, experience, or life.
- On view September 28, 2024 in a solo exhibit titled Pieces of Sky - with Artist in Rotation at ProptoGroup, New Haven CT
- Featured in the book Rag & Pulp (July 2023) by Uppercase Publishing, and Pressing Matters 24 (October 2023).
on instagram -- @mikesweeneyart -- @_marginnotes_
website -- https://www.mikesweeneyartist.com
