Emergence of the Kelp Deer

Chromgenic Print on Sintra

Christine Nguyen

Exhibit: B.A.T. State III: Women Artists In Conversation with El Nopal Press, at CSULB

This group showing of Nopal Press’ collaborations with many artists over the years, mostly lithographs but also including other media and monotypes, was inspiring in that it showed the amazing range that is possible in printmaking. I appreciate the fact that only women artists were included here, as women have often been marginalized in art history.

Of course, I was drawn to the largest piece in the exhibit, a massive dreamscape by Christine Nguyen, Emergence of the Kelp Deer, It is composed of fifty 2-foot-square images. Each image was drawn by hand on Mylar with ink, watercolor, and salt solution, creating a variety of colors and textures. They were then treated as photographic negatives and exposed onto film to create a reverse of the image, where white becomes black and colors become their opposite. The result is fantastical and mysterious, and truly dreamlike. The iridescent effect reminds me of jellyfish bodies.

I love the idea of using individual prints, in any medium, to create a monumental piece, in this case one 20 feet wide! The fact that the individual squares do not all line up with each other in their details only adds vibrancy and reminds us of the process. They still come together as one cohesive image.

Joseph Corso