Exploring The Senses

Linocuts

This first linocut was created with no restrictions to my senses. This means that I could use both hands, my eyes and there was no time limit to which the image had to be created. The only limitation I gave myself was that of the diamond which will be prevalent in all the linocuts to follow. The point of this exercise was to see how dominant, if at all my right hand was to my left hand and how much sight plays a role in design. The image that was created inside the diamond was achieved by drawing lines and circles using object that were close to me. Some of these objects included glasses, cups, tape and small boxes. I then preceded to let my mind create images as I filled in all the shapes with tribal styled patterns. This leaves the images with an almost say what you see aesthetic to it as different people conjure up different images that they perceive.

The second linocut was done only with my right hand, with absolutely no support from my left hand as i tied it behind my back to prevent myself from using it at all. The idea was to create a linocut as if i only had my right arm. Unlike the first linocut i gave myself a four hour time restriction to get the piece done. With this time restriction we can already see a drop in complexity of the image but the line work itself remains consistent with a few mistakes here and there. This one came as no surprise to me but i now know for certain that i can still create linocuts without my left arm.

This third linocut was done only using my left arm. Like with the right arm linocut my right hand was tied behind my back this time. A further drop in line cutting quality and consistency can be noticed but that was to be expected as my left hand is not my dominant hand. But to my surprise I learned that my left hand is not as weak as i thought and with some practice it could be as strong as my right hand. A strange thought came to my head after this image and that was that i think i could acclimatise to a world without either my left arm or my right arm.

This final linocut was and experiment with my sight. I decided to blind fold myself and try and make a linocut which in retrospect was rather dangerous as it involves sharp tools used in the cutting process. One thing i did learn even though it may be obvious is that sight plays a huge role in design. Though this may seem obvious, have you ever tried doing something completely sightless? If not I would highly recommend it. An interesting aspect that you learn to focus in on is that of touch. by using your fingers you can almost imagine where the line will be, and you can use them as guide points. overall i enjoy this small experiment of mine and i would recommend similar ones to those who are exploring their senses.