Mosaic: John Goto
8 February 2011
Mosaic 7
15 January - 19 March
Edinburgh Printmakers
Prompted by the invasion of the Gaza Strip by the Israeli Defense Force (27 December 2008 - 21 January 2009), John Goto has made a new series of apparently abstract images entitled "Mosaic".
Access to the conflict was denied to the international press. One common means of censoring digital images is the application of a standard graphics filter named Mosaic. Having mapped a grid across the chosen area of the picture, the filter averages the tones and colours within each rectangle. When applied by Goto to documentary images, the filter transforms them into' abstracts' reminiscent of the colour systems paintings made by artists Johannes Itten, Paul Klee and Max Bill.
Documentary images from the conflict that appeared on the internet were often made, not by professional photo journalists, but by eye-witnesses using mobile phones or small digital cameras. Goto explores the characteristically pixilated look to be found in such images. The artist has solved the problem of representing censored, hidden images by making double-sided prints onto single sheets of paper. Specially designed frames allow viewing from both sides.
For this exhibition Goto has also created two mural size images and worked with Edinburgh Printmakers on the research and development of a newly commissioned work that explores the convergence of traditional printmaking techniques with digital image manipulation and printing.
Mosaic Flier (PDF: 148KB)
