Phoebe Beard

Phoebe Beard is a visual artist living and working in Melbourne, Australia. Beard uses the medium of drawing and printmaking to create installations that discuss food systems and stories. Her installations represent a do-it-yourself aesthetic, creating artworks from her home studio and on her couch. 

Beard has most recently exhibited with Blindside Gallery, Good Grief Studios, Watch This Space and Quivering in Quarantine. Beard is a current committee member at Kings Artist Run Initiative and works with Incinerator Art Gallery in Aberfeldie, Victoria.

#18 | Flesh and Blood, 2020, linocut, water-based ink on Japanese rice paper, 17 x 24 cm. $$

Flesh and Blood is the first time that I experimented with more than one colour using one linocut. To achieve six colours, I dissected the original image into six main parts, starting with a brown background. Unlike traditional printmaking methods adopted by artists such as Katsushika Hokusai I used only one plate to create the final image. Hokusai would use one plate per colour, with artworks such as ‘The Great Wave’ (1831) consisting of seven separate woodblock plates. If a mistake was made you were able to alter the individual woodblock and discard any misprints. I chose to experiment with reduction lino cutting as I can create a multi-coloured image using limited materials. The process was challenging as I had to consider every layer and colour, erasing each layer with each step.