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The short circuit. One plate from the suite of 20 prints entitled 'Trust Me'

Print
1992-1993 (printed)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

The prints in this portfolio take their inspiration from 1950s illustrations of science magic tricks in comic-book, somewhat diagrammatic, style. The artist has taken these and combined them with a kind of 'stream of consciousness' or 'automatic' drawing (where the artist does not really think about what they are doing in a conscious way). In a statement about the set of prints the artist notes that the juxtaposition of title and image, and of illustration (taken from the science magic book source) and hand painted gesture "imply cause and effect, triggering a psychological drama within". Some of the images seem very feminist, in that they show female figures in controlling positions within the overall narrative of the image. The suite shows how an artist can combine a found or ready-made source with their own work to produce images with a certain psychological complexity. This particular image shows wires, what might be a desk, and a hand grasping four electrical clips.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleThe short circuit. One plate from the suite of 20 prints entitled 'Trust Me' (assigned by artist)
Materials and techniques
Intaglio
Brief description
Elizabeth Marran: The short circuit. One plate from the suite of 20 prints entitled 'Trust Me' 1992
Physical description
Image with a desk, wires, and four electrical clips with a hand grasping them.
Dimensions
  • Sheet height: 32.6cm
  • Sheet width: 32.9cm
  • Approx. printed surface in each plate height: 9.8cm
  • Approx. printed surface in each plate width: 7cm
  • Plate height: 30cm
  • Plate width: 30.2cm
Production typeLimited edition
Copy number
not numbered. Artist's proof
Credit line
Given by the artist
Production
Attribution note: this suite is un-numbered but the edition is 20 with three artist's proofs.
Subject depicted
Summary
The prints in this portfolio take their inspiration from 1950s illustrations of science magic tricks in comic-book, somewhat diagrammatic, style. The artist has taken these and combined them with a kind of 'stream of consciousness' or 'automatic' drawing (where the artist does not really think about what they are doing in a conscious way). In a statement about the set of prints the artist notes that the juxtaposition of title and image, and of illustration (taken from the science magic book source) and hand painted gesture "imply cause and effect, triggering a psychological drama within". Some of the images seem very feminist, in that they show female figures in controlling positions within the overall narrative of the image. The suite shows how an artist can combine a found or ready-made source with their own work to produce images with a certain psychological complexity. This particular image shows wires, what might be a desk, and a hand grasping four electrical clips.
Associated objects
Collection
Accession number
E.341:18-2007

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Record createdAugust 24, 2007
Record URL
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