Gwenaël Rattke

Germany
Visual
Artist in Residence, 2016
www.rattke.com

Artist Statement

Collage is a central aspect of my work. Sometimes I use found images as they are, sometimes I adjust them with Xerox machines. It is mostly a manual process, not a digital one. The silkscreens I make usually start out as collages before being printed. I retain faith in the printed page and use it both as source material and as a vehicle for my work.

I tend to interact very openly with elements and techniques of graphic art. The democratic language of graphics interests me as a tool. I enjoy using these signifiers in a context where they are liberated from their initial commercial imperatives and where they can be infused with new meaning.

While At Headlands

I intend to lay out the foundations for an artist book / magazine during the course of my residency at Headlands. A visual publication, produced and layed-out by hand like a collage, xeroxed and silk screened. The book is to pay homage, in a very open and subjective way, to a number of San Francisco sub-cultural histories and characters that have resonated with me over the years. It is not to be a purely nostalgic look at the city but rather an attempt to link past strategies to current realities. The past can be a guide within the contemporary cultural and political maze and can contain inspiration and sustainability for dealing with current struggles and dilemmas.