Cosmico

Mixed media xylography paste-up, Kings Heath, Birmingham, UK

Homemade baren (top)

Homemade baren (bottom)

I considered the graffiti tag that was already on this wall an invitation to paste my work there as well. In fact, the tag was used in place of the sun in the original sold print titled ‘Cosmico’ (Spanish for ‘cosmos’). I don’t mind tags as long as they’re respectful of others’ work. I try not to cover up others’ work, and hope they afford me the same respect. In creating this paste-up, I used my homemade baren to press the paper to the wood to transfer the image.

Curator’s Notes: Paste-up is a composition on a sheet of paper, board, or other backing applied to a wall usually using wheatpaste. This technique allows street artists to put up detailed images quickly.

Xylography is an ancient printing technique developed in China and Japan in the 8th and 9th centuries. The image in carved in relief into a wooden block, which is then inked. Paper is pressed to the block to transfer the image.

Baren refers to a hand tool with a flat bottom and a knotted handle used in Japanese woodblock printing to burnish the back of the paper in order to transfer ink from the plate to the sheet.