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Regal

Print
2000 (printed)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This print is an interesting example of how digital inkjet printing can be used as an intermediary process. 'Regal' was first created as a watercolour over an etched background. This was then scanned and printed digitally. From this image photographic separations were made and then printed using both lithographic and screenprinting processes: the background has been overprinted with a phosphorescent ink, which glows in the dark, using the screenprinting process; the 'watercolour' parts of the image are lithographic. This print was published by Counter Editions in 2000 in a portfolio of 14 works by contemporary artists.

Ofili is celebrated for invoking stereotypes of black people and culture, while simultaneously creating images which are respectful, affectionate and sometimes deeply moving. This image was conceived as a companion piece to an earlier but similar female image 'Celestial' made in 1998.

Object details

Category
Object type
TitleRegal (assigned by artist)
Materials and techniques
Lithographic print in 4 colours on a silkscreened glow-in-the-dark background,printed on Colorplan 270 gsm paper
Brief description
Chris Ofili: Regal. 2000
Physical description
Image shows a swirling pencil pattern drawing (actually made with etching), silk-screened in glow-in-the-dark ink, as a background, and lithographically printed watercolour image of a man's head and shoulders in the foreground. The shoulder area has been stencilled, so that some of the background pattern shows through.
Dimensions
  • Sheet height: 40.4cm
  • Sheet width: 29cm
  • Printed surface height: 24cm
  • Printed surface width: 18.9cm
Copy number
15/300
Marks and inscriptions
Ofili Regal 15/300 (Signature; title; edition number. All in pencil.)
Credit line
Purchased through the Julie and Robert Breckman Print Fund
Courtesy the Artist and Counter Editions ©Chris Ofili
Summary
This print is an interesting example of how digital inkjet printing can be used as an intermediary process. 'Regal' was first created as a watercolour over an etched background. This was then scanned and printed digitally. From this image photographic separations were made and then printed using both lithographic and screenprinting processes: the background has been overprinted with a phosphorescent ink, which glows in the dark, using the screenprinting process; the 'watercolour' parts of the image are lithographic. This print was published by Counter Editions in 2000 in a portfolio of 14 works by contemporary artists.

Ofili is celebrated for invoking stereotypes of black people and culture, while simultaneously creating images which are respectful, affectionate and sometimes deeply moving. This image was conceived as a companion piece to an earlier but similar female image 'Celestial' made in 1998.
Bibliographic reference
Rosie Miles in: Rosie Miles and Gill Saunders: Prints Now. V&A Publications, 2006. pp136-7
Collection
Accession number
E.1570-2001

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Record createdJuly 2, 2003
Record URL
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