Faculty of Art

Printmaking & Publications

Sarah Gifford

Understandings

Trauma can fracture the self into disconnected parts, in my print series “Understandings” I seek to engage with these divided parts of the self, attempting to uncover and communicate through storytelling and visual expression. This is done through exploring memories of home, relationships and connection to the body.Home is not a specific place, but instead something less tangible that exists in memories. Its falseness, its potential lack of truth does not need to affect the comfort a memory can provide, nostalgia has the ability to warp our memories, in hopeful and idealistic ways. Our relationships carry us, being in community and amongst chosen family is a powerful and healing force. I reflect on the effort put into maintaining relationships, the effort that goes into sustaining care and intimacy is not something to be minimized. Instead this is something to be constantly acknowledged and celebrated, there is joy in being cared for, there is joy in providing care. There is an intimate relationship between the body and its environment. Our environments shape us in a multitude of ways, many outside the grasp of our control. In water I find solace and balance, a space of neutrality where the entirety of my being can be held, a place where complex emotions can be nurtured.Exploring mark making through hand drawn screenprint films has allowed me to get to know the imagery I depict, this process involves drawing the same image multiple times, developing a sense of familiarity with every line drawn and eventually printed. The incorporation of coloured pencil and gouache into screenprinted layers, added an element of play into the work, allowing experimentation in each individual print within each varied edition. The final addition of collage elements using both personal photography and found imagery brings life into each print, drawing the viewer in closer to view small details not initially clear.