Drawing Blood, Drawing Poison, Drawing Fire - a pre-launch Q&A with the artist, Simon Grennan.
Funded by the Arts Council and led by artist Simon Grennan, ‘Drawing Blood’ is a new collaborative art project that creates a new online exhibition of twenty new, original animated artworks. Hosted by Gladstone’s Library, the online exhibition will also be available at Contemporary Art Space Chester and at Aura libraries in North Wales, including Broughton, Buckley, Mold, Deeside, Holywell, Connah’s Quay and Flint.
The new artworks are inspired by a book Simon found in the Gladstone’s Library collections. Dating from 1878, Gladstone from Judy’s Point of View collects cartoons satirising one of the hot topics of the period – liberal political opinion. As one of the major Liberal politicians, William Ewart Gladstone is often in the firing line of Judy’s cartoonists. In the tradition of political artists everywhere their pens puncture any political pomposity, drawing Gladstone (and others) not as respected statesman but as wobbly juggler, unstable acrobat, indecisive whirligig, pram-pushing lady, and many more.
Ahead of the exhibition’s launch, Simon gave us some exclusive insights into the production process. They’ll be posted on this blog each week: for a full list, please visit the project’s home page: https://www.gladstoneslibrary.org/reading-rooms/digital-gladstone/drawing-blood-drawing-poison-drawing-fire
Why are the new drawings so colourful?
The colour shows parts that are new, leaving black and white the parts as they are in the Victorian cartoons. I wanted to make a clear visible distinction between the Victorian drawings and my drawings and colour was one way to achieve that.
Pam bod y lluniau newydd mor lliwgar?
Mae’r lliwiau yn dangos rhannau sy’n newydd, gan adael y rhannau du a gwyn fel y maent yn y cart?ns Fictoraidd. Rwyf eisiau gwneud gwahaniaeth gweladwy clir rhwng y lluniau Fictoraidd a fy lluniau ac roedd lliw yn un ffordd o gyflawni hynny.