‘Is that shape a cut-out? Is that piece under this one? What does that bit mean? How is it constructed?’ Independent art director and graphic designer Andy Welland is attempting to clarify the thought process behind his Loose Ends project to me, but only manages to muddy the waters further.
Truth is, it is a sense of intrigue and underlying curiosity that defines this self-initiated project; the lure of fascination in the designer’s disparate visual forms that render this duo of screen-prints so captivating. Triggered by a want to utilise discarded elements from various design projects Welland felt still held value, Loose Ends celebrates his conceptual scraps, elevating them from the humble to the sublime; collaborating with expert printers at Sheffield’s B&B Gallery to produce resonant screen-prints that capture the essence of print.
The devil is in the detail, Welland explains: ‘you’ll spot subtle marks of trapping, registering, and how the piece was constructed from digital to physical’, making it a bona fide piece of ‘printers-print’. Working at London agencies like M&C Saatchi upon graduation from art school, the multidisciplinary creative can now be found putting together work for big name international clients under his own name; a love for print-making — and an affinity for bold graphics, colour, and play — prompting this move into art editions. Working closely with the printers at B&B, Welland’s prints play with colour, adding subtle varnishes and hints of neon in the six-colour, hand-pulled screen-prints.
Limited to an edition of 20 signed and numbered prints (printed on 300gsm Imperial Somerset Satin White stock at 560 mm x 760 mm), Welland’s Loose Ends are available exclusively at shop.andywelland.com.
