The David Krut Print Workshop team is at it again, making William Kentridge’s linocut tree IF YOU HAVE NO EYE.
The tree is made of individual, non-archival dictionary pages that are printed with various parts of the tree and then meticulously put together like pieces of a puzzle, with overlapping pages and small, torn trimmings inserted into the complete work. Some pieces get loosely torn while others are cut with a blade for a sharp edge.
It starts with the text or design inversely carved onto a linoleum tile whose surface then gets inked.
A dictionary page is placed on the inked surface and they are both run through a press for the ink to be transferred from the lino to the paper.
The non-archival quality of the paper does not allow for the ink’s absorption. As a result the transferred image is glossy and stands out against the matte paper. The printed dictionary pages are left to dry over a period of time that is dependent on the weather.
Once the ink has dried the pages are cut/torn and strategically taped on the unprinted side, ready for assembling.
The tree is put together using a transparent sheet with a map of where each piece should go.
