February 2021
THE LINOCUT - Worker at a Port
Limited edition linocut by Hwang In Jae
THE LINOCUT
The vessel Taewon is a General Cargo Ship built in 1995. The female worker appears to be coming from work, full of joy.
The artists got to know the workers during their stay in the ports. The women were mainly being used on paint stripping and re-painting jobs. Whilst the perspective is not correct (the quay appears to be on a slant) it is likely that Hwang used this as part of the composition – dividing the picture into several angular wedges, the quay, the water the red hull and the black topside.
In addition, the figure is framed by the lines of the hawser and quay. Hwang uses hand coloured ink washes for part of the colouring.
THE BACKSTORY
The linocuts were one part of the project ‘Ship Building’ that I commissioned in 2011. The full body of work was almost completed (inks, oils, linocuts) but because of an internal problem, the project was cancelled at the last moment. It was reminiscent of a previous commission
The only work we managed to get out were the Hwang In Jae linocuts.
Around 6 years later I was offered in Beijing some of the artworks which I had not seen since walking around the studio with the artists. Not only had we lost a large sum of money for the commission I was now being asked to pay for the work again.
Needless to say, I refused, but it still torments me, the works that were produced were remarkable and may never be seen again.
I could not track down the work and it was all hushed up. The exhibition I had worked on for two years would never take place.
