Liorah Tchiprout
My work is about belonging, girlhood, and theatricality. I build physical puppet characters to construct my own pantheon from which to draw images. This methodology allows these characters to sit in between the real and the imagined, drawn from a reality that is constructed. Through it I intend to build a world which recentres the stories of women and girls – a world for them to liaise, interact, and plot in.
I usually work in etching, drawing and monotype. This was the first time I’d had the opportunity to work with a printer in a process I don’t really understand, which was incredibly informative for me. As a printer myself, it really reaffirmed the relationship between artist and printer – the artist with the vision and direction, and printer with the knowledge to bring that to volition. I hope there is a resurgence of this understanding, and more painters, drawers and sculptors realise what printers can offer to their practice.
This suite of lithographs were made in a brief respite of lockdown restrictions, when I was especially missing the theatre, which is a massive influence on my work. In the titles I was thinking about how the positions occupied in the theatre are metaphors for those in life. ‘The Box’ and ‘The Stalls’, are when are witness to lives of others. ‘The players’ for when we are sort of carried along, and ‘The Troupe’, when we are centre stage and full of dramatics.
I’m so grateful to Catherine Ade for being such a wonderful enabler of artists, and The Printing Charity for making it possible.
Liorah Tchiprout is represented by Marlborough Gallery.
View our other projects here.
