Tjilpi's bout of writers block has not resolved, so he decided to turn his hand to art. On the left is one of his early Linocuts.
It belongs to the School known as Primitive Line Linocuts.
This Linocut is outstanding in "real life". Unfortunately, the reproduction process used by the printers of the photo has turned what is in fact a fantastic blood red background into a muddy orange, and they have also horizontally "flipped" the whole image 180 degrees to conform with normal circuit diagram orientation. Apparently the printers weren't aware that Tjilpi fully intended the image to be 180 degrees out of whack horizontally when he cut the lino prior to pressing the image. However, whichever way you look at it, this work is a masterpiece.
Tjilpi's pieces will be on sale in the Todd Street Mall when the Alice Springs Markets recommence operation in a month or so. Critics are suggesting that this early work will command a four figure sum. When asked about his attitude to the Dot Painting School, Tjilpi gruffly replied that it really wasn't very difficult to connect the dots to make lines, and he wondered why people hadn't thought of doing that before he did.
This will no doubt be of historical interest once the image is pressed. It could be claimed by the artist to be the world's first "printed circuit".
Posted by: Pop Pop | Thursday, 19 January 2012 at 12:13