Print Contemporary Practice
Lara Grufferty
Creid é nó ná Creid (Believe it or Not)
‘Creid é nó ná Creid (Believe it or Not)’ extracts elements from fairy-tales, mythology and folklore and amalgamates them with fragments from family anecdotes regarding the artist’s mother, grand-mother, twin sister, as well as the artist, herself. The intention is to symbolise a close relationship between women and the natural environment. The concept of interconnectedness between woman and nature is not new, it has existed as an inspirational metaphor for feminists, neo-pagans, and natural healers. Female family members became a mode to represent feminine characteristics; beauty, strength, fertility, and power that the artist associated with elements in nature.
The artist believes that nature is intrinsic to magic. Fairy-tales, for her, has always had a balanced and holistic approach to magic, where the existence of mystical creatures and magic are normal occurrences. Furthermore, a belief and an existence in magic was encouraged by the artist’s mother and grandmother from an early age. Her grandmother describing the women of the family as having the ‘ability of the Faye.’ The artist has interpreted this as to having a close relationship with nature, which has led her to her current area of exploration as already described.
Colourful compositions, which Lara defines as, mindscapes of associations between, primarily Irish folklore tales and stories about the women close to her. Fragments of the connections Lara has extracted from these stories are merged and outputted through layers of colour achieved through silkscreen and mono-print processes. The colours are inspired by the natural environment, where the vibrancy is intentionally hyperbolised. Silkscreen print processes aid in achieving thin layer of colour which interact and mix on the surface of the paper, further lends to an atmosphere of fertility, power, beauty, and strength, in order to convey the intrinsic bond between woman and nature.