An Interview with Liz Wilson
To learn that what originally drew Wilson to printing was “the performative nature in which both machine and human synchronized with one another” provides wonderful context for her multi-faceted practice. Recordings of repeatable actions are mediated through screens, halftone printed artifacts rub up against the digital artifacts of video imagery and the effect is a compelling body of work that is able to straddle multiple generations of image production and consumption.
In Tandem (2021) Screen Print.
When did you first start printing?
I first started printing when I was 18 years of age. I remember visiting the University of Gloucestershire as a prospective student and I was instantly captivated by the printmaking workshop. I was drawn to the physicality of the space and the performative nature in which both machine and human synchronized with one another.
Traverse (2015) Screen Print on Steel, Concrete, Wood.
Conjoining the Effect of the Real (2018) Screen Print, Perspex, Aluminum, Linoleum.
Did you receive formal print training or did you begin incorporating print techniques over time?
I have worked within various Further & Higher Educational Institutions as a Printmaking Technical Tutor over the past 10 years, where I have been lucky enough to work alongside incredible practitioners across a wide range of disciplines. This has enabled me to incorporate a multi-disciplinary approach to the way I create new works. I studied my masters in Print at the Royal College of Art which is where I began working with moving image and installation. Here I began drawing connections between the physical copy and virtual space reflecting constant developments within technology and our complex relationship with images.
Where do you typically make your work? Home studio? Shared space?
Working across the boundaries of print, moving image, sound and sculpture I often work within different spaces to create new works. On a typical day I will spend time in my studio researching, experimenting, editing video footage and using the space for the production of sculptural works. Parallel to this I use the printmaking workshop at the university where I work part-time to problem solve, investigate and explore new techniques and methodologies.
10.12.19, 2019. Mixed media.
Sta cca to (2016) Mixed Media.
How do you see your print background informing your more expanded practice?
Drawing upon notions of mechanical reproduction and the copy, I often employ the use of repetition, rhythm and choreography within my work. Within my large-scale video installations, I have begun experimenting with sound, mechanizing single notes of my voice and modulating these into sequences. I use 3D scanning a lot within my practice to digitize objects as technological artifacts, enabling me to traverse through a digital container on screen and re-translate these movements back into prints. I enjoy this illusory aspect of physicality, amplifying the artificial nature in which the object was created as a digital artifact.
The Rhythm Machine (2017) and The Rhythm Machine (detail) Multi-channel Video Installation, 4 min, 670 x 470cm
The Rhythm Machine is an orchestra of modulated voices, factory transformations and animations exploring the stretch of time between the industrial and post-industrial. Utilizing animation as a way of simulating the rhythm and tempo of the machine, the work takes on the aesthetic of early computer graphics, which is played in relationship to footage from a Victorian Ropery. Further employing the use of mechanization within the work, modulated voices simulate the individualized rhythmical energy of each apparatus. These disembodied parts become orchestral when playing simultaneously, participating at various tempos and pitches. These pulsations of movement generated by both human and automata recapitulate and evolve, acting as reverberations - conversations between the old and new and possibility of evolution.
Who would you love to collaborate with?
As large of my practice involves working with manufacturing communities and I have previously worked with Hitachi Rail Ltd, CNC Robotics, Spiroflow and Chatham Dockyard Ropemakers. At the moment I am currently exploring themes of mechanical pleasure, rhythm and pareidolia, which is the imagined perception of a pattern in otherwise random or unrelated objects or sound. I would therefore love to collaborate with a fairground ride manufacturer, or undertake a residency at a theme park.
What are you working on at the moment?
At the moment I am working on a large-scale installation for the National Festival of Making. As part of their Art in Manufacturing series, I am collaborating with manufacturers, CNC Robotics. Drawing upon their proximity to the Leeds / Liverpool Canal I have begun exploring the significance of the canal horses along the waterway and their roles as transportation devices during the industrial revolution. Using the arterial route of the canal as a timeline, I am currently producing video, sound and sculptural works to recreate a voyage which explores technology and automation.
The Orchestrated Unconscious (2020) Multi-channel Video Installation, 4 min, Dimensions Variable.
The Orchestrated Unconscious is a multi-channel video installation encompassing modulated vocals, animations and sculpture exploring time, velocity and labour. Enacting as a transportation device, the installation gathers speed rhythmically, pulsating into a crescendo, drawing parallels between the stretch of time between the industrial and post-industrial. Further exploring the human-machine relationship of ‘timekeeper’ and ‘apparatus’ kinetic motifs echo the speed and acceleration of time. The momentum of such propelling towards what is approaching, a route into the unknown. The Orchestrated Unconscious has been produced in collaboration with Hitachi Rail Ltd. It is co-commissioned by Coachworks, Quinn Estates and Ashford Borough Council.
Each feature post in the Womxn in Expanded Print series is accompanied by a donation to the social justice cause of each artist’s choosing in their name. Liz’s chosen organization is Refugee Action.