Paula Wilson
In The Desert
Artist Paula Wilson worked in residence at Island Press in May of 2015 and created a series of works inspired by actual throw rugs she made. Wilson, who is a master of the collagraph process, worked between intaglio and relief on two giant plates, creating arrays of color with a la poupeé (where multiple colors of ink are wiped on the plate simultaneously). Printed on muslin and mounted to wood slats or hung like tapestries, the works are faux rugs that explore gender, race, and sexuality, using the human backside as symbol and canvas. In the Desert: Mooning is an editioned work that became the foundation for the rest of the series. Wilson worked with early proofs from the development of In the Desert: Mooning and created the rest of the series by collaging scraps of printed muslin.