"Almost contact," Copyright © 2019 by Matina Marki Tillman
Artist Reception: Saturday, December 7, 2019, 3-5pm
October 31 – November 24, 2019, the Washington Printmakers Gallery hosted Humanography: Shifts and Variations by Matina Marki Tillman, direct etchings of her charcoal and pencil drawings on vellum onto Solarplates. These hand-pulled varied editions preserve the traditional qualities of the fine pencil line and the velvety gradation of charcoal, and were created using a light-and-water-sensitive etching process. In this show, Tillman presented depictions and installations of individual, self-as-a-subject, double and multiple portrayals of the human. Focusing on the slight motion (or lack of motion), and the weight of the instant, the artist observed and reported back reflections from our internal journeys shaped by slight shifts and variations.
The exhibition opened with a combination of both “shifts” and “variations” (Thrill of flight I & II), and it unfolded along the main gallery wall with another four arrangements of “shifts.” “Variations” were presented as installations on the back wall and table. The show concluded with a final “shift,” the diptych installation of “Monologue” and “Dialogue” on a small table in the center of the gallery.
"Night behind," Copyright © 2019 by Matina Marki Tillman
Shifts
At the core of this body of work is the notion that a slight shift in our actual physical position, or a subtle shift in our attitude, could impact literally everything. Throughout the process of creating “shifts” Tillman explored the sequential image used in films and comic art. She drew and etched out of accidental selfies, created personas, storyboarded poses of models and forgotten snapshots. The Greek artist creates her personal mythology interlacing a sometimes reflective, other times humorous warp with her humanographies as the weft. The final result is an exclusively anthropocentric fabric where her protagonists dwell: A winged person, either astonished by, or perhaps submitting to the process of flying; a young man, half-human half-angel observed in the onerous balancing of his physical existence and an implicit spirituality; totemic women at different stages of their lives interacting out of the shadows; a performer shifting between different phases of understanding and managing things around her; girls lost and found in dreams. All of these and more populate Tillman’s world of “shifts.”
"Study of hands,"Copyright © 2019 by Matina Marki Tillman
Variations
“Variations” came as a natural part of the project, since alterations in the form often initiate shifts in the content as well. This second part of the show started with “Density,” an etching that highlights the notion of variations within the context of a single print by incorporating over 100 figures. The show continued along the back wall and multi-installation table, with the artist choosing as subjects pairs of hands that interact with themselves or other drawings / etchings. Tillman’s aim in her own words was “to explore whether or not a change in the form is enough to reinvent the story.” This was practiced through different impressions of 10 pairs of hands and their participation within different installations: the quintet “Study of hands;” the shadowbox “book of relations;” six pairs of hands as a cohort of invaded tiles; a pair of hands evanescing to the infinite. Together with these was included a book of artist’s notes with background commentary and thoughts that the artist had before and during the creation of Humanography: Shifts and Variations.
A sequel to her previous show Humanography in 2015 that was exploring the mood and state of mind, this show additionally highlighted our response (both physical and psychological) to life’s events. It leaves us perhaps with questions to consider, such as whether or not a slight shift in our physical position or attitude is enough to mark essential changes within or around us. And if a single faithful portrait of us even exists – or, after all, we are the sum of our ongoing shifts and variations.
"relations (6)," Copyright © 2019 by Matina Marki Tillman
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