YOU ARE HERE
You Are Here is a large scale installation designed and printed by Jennifer Farrell of Starshaped Press, Hamilton’s Visiting Artist 2019–2022. The opening of the exhibition coincides with the Museum’s annual November Wazygoose, when many printers and print enthusiasts gather to celebrate the art of letterpress and type in all its forms.
Resembling a giant landscape of buildings and natural elements, You Are Here was printed over six days at the Museum. It utilizes various sizes of large wood type, set and printed in overlapping layers before trimming and assembling into repeating patterns. Some of the smaller elements were printed in the same manner at Starshaped Press, Jennifer’s studio in Chicago. Effort was made to showcase the unique and detailed qualities of each letterform, reexamining its day-to-day task of straightforward communication. “Windows” within the installation feature comments from the global print community, gathered in response to prompts. You Are Here offers viewers a chance to reflect on the power of print, and the sense of place it inspires.
Survey prompts:
To me, print is:
I can create when:
I worry about:
I make space for:
I can heal by:
I contribute to printing by:
I am comforted by:
Making prints:
Working with my hands:
My community is:
I can build:
__makes me feel safe.
__brings me joy.
__is home to me.
Thank you to the 250+ people that contributed to the survey and to Neenah Paper for generously providing paper for this project.