Great Ape
Services
Print, Illustration
Client
Artevelde Hogeschool
Link
Year
2014
Silkscreen
Magic
Screen printing has something magical about it. It allows printed work to stand apart from the rest. It really stands out. With screen printing, you can achieve far greater colour depth than with an offset press or a digital printer. A thick layer of ink is printed onto the substrate, which you can actually see lying on the surface and even feel. You also have the option to print special Pantone inks, such as fluorescent or metallic colours, and it can be applied to almost all types of substrates.
Humans and
other Great Apes
I had been toying with the idea for some time of illustrating something featuring great apes. I want to give them a more human character – a certain behaviour or emotion that we, as humans, find very recognisable. Apes are considered our ancestors, our roots as it were, so the resemblance is certainly there. Yet seeing emotions in this animal was often impossible or unconvincing, because we do not regard the ape as our own species.
Functional
Pointillism
That is where the stippling technique came in handy. It gives the image a scientific feel, which removes much of the doubt. Or perhaps it does not. After all, this is not an exact drawing of an existing ape, nor is it a distortion towards the image of a human. No, the head of this ape is distorted towards certain human emotions. And these emotions differ for every observer.
The ape has a very penetrating look. It seems as if it is trying to tell us something. Emotions of fear and exhaustion are certainly present. ‘A subtle link to global warming?’ – ‘Are our ancestors coming to tell us that we urgently need to intervene?’ This is just one possible interpretation, and that is exactly the response I wanted to evoke. The image is so powerful that it makes you start asking yourself questions immediately.
