University of Portsmouth   2003/2004

Andy Parker

Producing work on the fringes of destruction and disappearance, my practice engages with the traces of obsolescence that abound in a culture of over-production.

My residency at Portsmouth University allowed me to begin a body of work that uses vandalised train windows as found etching plates. The scratched graffiti of carriage windows was taken as the first stage in a print process where the glass, once removed from the train, could be inked up and printed in much the same way as a drypoint etching.

The comprehensive facilities and excellent technical assistance at Portsmouth University have allowed me to refine the methods needed to produce these large scale intaglio prints, and to investigate further opportunities offered by vandalised bus shelters, phone boxes and store fronts.