The Anatomy of the Printing Matrix (2019)

Inked, hand-cut photo litho plate
32.18 x 22.31 inches (x3)

Print media is based on the life-giving, regenerative matrix, the Latin origin of which is “womb.” Nevertheless, much literature on printmaking focuses on its mechanical reproductivity, which resulted from print media’s history of translating other mediums into a print format.

I am much more interested in printmaking’s metaphorical, biological reproductivity, and made this triptych as a response. The images in it come from William Hunter's The Anatomy of the Human Gravid Uterus Exhibited in Figures, a collection of 34 copper plate engravings of the pregnant womb.

This triptych has three goals. First, to highlight the much-overlooked kinship between matrix and womb. Secondly, to collapse printmaking’s literal, mechanical reproducibility, and its metaphorical, biological reproducibility. Lastly, to celebrate the matrix itself as the artwork.

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