06 November 2006

Locusts In Babylon

Locusts In Babylon:
10.5 x 13.5 inches (27 x 34 cm)
8 blocks, 12 colors, 15 impressions
echizen kozo paper. 

Based on a satellite view/map of the area between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers that includes Baghdad, this print references the area called the Fertile Crescent, the biblical land of Babylonia. This is the place where the ancient Sumerians developed the earliest known form of writing, cuneiform. It's the place where the ruler named Hammurabi wrote some of the earliest known laws in the world, laws that underpin our own legal system. And this is the place where the U.S. Military has unleashed a seemingly unstoppable chaos that threatens to engulf the whole region. 

This print took two months from inception to completion. Twenty sheets of paper, each receiving 15 impressions = 300 times I put ink and damp paper on a block and rubbed it with my baren. Through each repetition, like a 300-bead rosary, my thoughts went to the people of Iraq, so many of whom are displaced and living in fear and chaos because of the policies of my government. 

I offer this print as one small attempt to do/say something about this sad and unnnecessary situation.  

**Added 7 Nov** Wow, thank you so much to everyone for your thoughtful comments and your support. It means a lot.

12 comments:

Kris Shanks said...

Wow. It's been great watching you build this print layer by layer. The final result is so powerful. I love all the different elements you weave together in this print - the imagery and emotional content come together to create a very strong image.

Cin said...

oh Annie

it's beautiful

Anonymous said...

I've thoroughly enjoyed the journey and love the final outcome. It's beautiful, Annie, and most original!!!

Andy English said...

This is the finest of your prints that I have seen. I think that it is a significant and important work that makes me eagerly anticipate your future projects. Thank you for sharig ts progress.

Anonymous said...

Annie,
This is stunning. It's like a quilt with fabric from many ages and cultures. I couldn't figure out how you were going to put all the pieces together but I never expected this. Congratulations!

Kathy

Anonymous said...

Amazing! You are getting so good and it so cool watching your development!

Karen Jacobs said...

Besides being beautiful in and of itself, the work is very strong in every way. Well done!

Viza Arlington said...

This print is beautifu.l I love the layers in both meaning and blocks.

Anonymous said...

Locusts in Babylon captures so much: the geopolitical, the historical, the topographic, the cultural. And it sets up the tensions between cartographic angularity and precision on the one hand, and the meandering and organic flow of the rivers on the other; the political boundaries "versus" the human "feel" of the near-textile quality; the presence of tools (yours, those of the carver of cuneiforms, our military's) against the land itself. An homage to all that is present in that slice of the world.

oshareneko said...

Really amazing. So glad you share.

Anonymous said...

Truly powerful -- I am so lucky I found your blog in time to see it.

Marissa L. Swinghammer said...

This print is incredible! Your best yet!