Roots, Shoots & Leaves - Upstairs Gallery July / August 2017
RWA164 - Royal West of England Academy - November 2016 (Fractured Landscape II)
Textile Alchemy - WAC Gallery June 2016
Fracture - Hoxton Arches June 2016
RWA164 - Royal West of England Academy - November 2016 (Fractured Landscape II)
Textile Alchemy - WAC Gallery June 2016
Fracture - Hoxton Arches June 2016
Media: Rust eco-printed recycled vintage linen, rusted metal and cotton stitching
3x 3.5x50x50cm Wall
3x 3.5x50x50cm Wall
The triptych ‘Fractured Landscape’ continues Ross Belton's exploration of natural mark making. As an artist, his work often starts with researching traditional techniques from a wide variety of cultures, especially Japan and Africa, and adapting them for contemporary applications.
This triptych print was created by sandwiching metal elements such as old fencing, screws and steel wool in carpenters scrim, using vinegar to encourage and accelerate the corrosion process. The elements and fabric were rolled together in a ‘Shibori’ bundle to ensure full contact with the cloth, allowing the rust to develop on the fabric’s surface, adapting a printing technique to create the equivalent of a fabric collagraph or monoprint.
Once the initial rust marks had started colouring the cloth, he then placed various metal elements on the selected pieces of fabric, and used a Victorian book press to embed the rusting objects into the cloth. Spraying them with vinegar daily, encouraging the initial rust marks to corrode further. With rust, the slow and unpredictable nature of the process, and the marks it produces, mirror the geological history that has produced the earth we stand on.
All photographs Jonathan Dredge