In Russian, “sputnik” means “Satellite”, or “Fellow Traveller”. I’ve been fascinated by the story of Sputnik I since I was a little kid: this little hunk of metal and plastic that zipped around the world saying, “beep. beep. beeeeeeep…”. I also found it incredibly funny how this little tyke could be so threatening to the US political system.
I’ve mentioned digging through my collection of old drawings in the “Echoes Series” and letting some of them go. One of the things I didn’t mention finding was a little pile of half-finished screen prints. I don’t remember exactly why I abandoned them. Perhaps I just didn’t know what to do next with them, or maybe I just lost interest and wandered off. It was an interesting reminder of the curious kid I used to be. I was experimenting with different ways to make images using silk screen techniques. I had a few prepared screens and would layer partial prints up in different colours. The effect is beautiful, but unfinished.
I spent some time looking at these unfinished pictures and made a decision to finish them.
It was an intuitive decision – I really liked them, and I couldn’t believe I’d just set them aside like I did. What came next was really interesting. I basically started a collaboration with my 26 year old self. And I’m not just commenting on the past, the process has become as much about me learning from 26 year old Stefan as it is completing something he left unfinished. Rediscovering the kid I used to be is a bit like discovering I’ve got a fellow traveller that maybe it’s time to get to know a little better.
Stay tuned…there are more of these to come. I count about 10 of these prints I’ll be working on finishing in the near future.
Take a look at what I’ve got so far and let me know what you think.