Pressing Matters #12 2020

One project that was well and truly borne out of this strange time in history is the brilliant Offcut Project – an ingenious idea by Suki from The Print Block, who created editions with artists using her paper offcuts and has raised funds for important charities in the process. Kyle Hawley and her all-female team at Letterpress PLAY also make the most of their materials by ensuring all of their products have multiple uses – what gets cut, gets kept. Proof that when things change, we change with them and often the ideas that bloom are just as creative as ever. The slower pace of things and spending more time in your own company can sometimes feel daunting, however printmakers are in a unique position to reflect these emotions in their art. The print community has also come together offering its support to the Black Lives Matter movement – be it through the free use of Riso printing or placard making at letterpress workshops. Print has always found itself a key means of mass communication, even in a more digital age. US printmaker Jamaal Barber discusses with Tanekeya Word the complexities of black as a colour and Black as a culture and how he infuses his work with impact and authenticity.