Adam SHIMOTA
Caulfield Grammar School
VCE Studio Arts 3 & 4
Artist statement: I have experimented with the application of one of my most personal collections of buttons through the process of scanography to capture a form of identity. The uniform and intentional shape of the buttons (such as circles, teardrops and triangles) pairs with concepts regarding my awareness of the shift from childhood to adolescence, and how I fit within a domestic, familial space. Scanography allows for a compression of space. When this is combined with the overall collective appearance of the buttons scattered across the image, a smothering and enveloping appearance is created that is seemingly endless. This develops a subtle and unsettling aesthetic quality that is enhanced by my realisation that the button holes mimic a pile of eyes. The scanned image was printed on organza, and subsequently photographed to achieve the final appearance. This allows for a more visible layering of the buttons, creating a rhythmic and textural appearance. It’s interesting the way the buttons are subsumed into the textured fabric’s warp and weft. Normally, the buttons cover up the fabric on which they are sewn, but this appears like the fabric is the primary layer and the buttons are almost a ghostly presence.
Also known as Giclee prints or bubble-jet prints, pigment ink-jet prints are generated by computer printers from digital or scanned files using dye-based or pigment-based inks. A series of nozzles spray tiny droplets of ink onto the paper surface in a precise pattern that corresponds to the digital image file. In dye-based prints the ink soaks into the paper, whereas in pigment-based prints the ink rests and dries on top of the paper surface.
Whilst the term is broad, pigment ink-jet prints have come to be associated with prints produced on fine art papers. They are the most versatile and archival method of printing available to photographers today. A wide variety of material on which an image can be printed with such inks are available, including various textures and finishes such as matte photo paper, watercolour paper, cotton canvas or pre-coated canvas.
