My starting point was to look at other signifiers of fear such as knifes , guns and tools. Using my own tool box contents, my knives and machete to draw sketches in different compositions Although knives represent to me, tools of trade, as I am a chef. I wanted to use knifes and tools in a different context such as gang culture where they become menacing, threatening and violent.
Charcoal sketch of a machete and a chopping knife with splashes of red ink
A selection of tools , hammer, Alan key, knife and magnet from my tool box.
Charcoal and pastel sketch . This has a cartoony feel to it, however the nails which are drawn to the magnet are interesting as they have no way to resist its power.
Experimented putting the machete and the crab together ,thinking about composition
Piercing the skin and allowing blood to flow with a potential threat to life.
I decided to recut a lino to look at using red and black to represent something sinister.
Hoping to cut some clean sharp edges, to represent blade edges. Threat of third England lockdown after Christmas on a ‘knife-edge’ Mr Hunt said it was on a “knife-edge” whether a third national lockdown would be needed after Christmas. “Looking at the numbers it is difficult to judge at the moment because in the North East and the North West although infection levels are going up they are still much lower than they have been, and the second strain of the virus doesn’t seem to have spread as much in the North as it has in the South. I would say at the moment it is on a knife-edge.”
Marking out which areas will be cut out.
Acrylic paint print. Considering the application of colour.
I experimented on a selection of coloured paper to see how the red ink reacted to it.
Marking out where I need to cut the lino to over print in black
Looking at Artists who use tools in their work I discovered the Artist Lee Lozano.
Lee Lozano
1963
Oil on canvas
165 x 203.2 cm / 65 x 80 in