Created using handmade Iron Oak Gall Ink, made from oak galls foraged from pavements and school yards, a natural resource in an urban environment. An exploration of recreating one of the oldest known forms of ink, and an exploration of connecting to the land and our environment through understanding nature.
The Green Man motif was over-printed in gold onto the painted oak gall background. The Green Man symbolises the wildness of nature, but despite common belief that he is Pagan in origin, evidence points to him first appearing in Christian architecture, a concept I find fascinating. Here he represents reverence of nature, the gold ink however is oil based so therefore problematic and harmful to nature. The Oak Gall inks is derived from nature but will eventually corrode the very artwork it was used to create, make it ephemeral and self destructive. Representing our own problematic relationship to the natural world.
