Printing The Commons
Services: videography and photography
Commission: project collation by Printed Geographies, supported by UWE Bristol Community Fund and Quarter Community Foundation
How can art become a vessel for shared values, a seed for commoning? In Bristol, local printmakers and storytellers came together to use screenprinting as a method to visualise and disrupt damaging narratives around human nature.
Challenging the ‘tragedy of the commons’
Printing the Commons was a collaborative project between local printmakers and members of the storytelling group of The Bristol Commons at Spike Island, Bristol.
Participants challenged the ‘tragedy of the commons’ - a concept where people default to self-interest, exploit and deplete when given access to shared resources - and instead celebrated histories of community stewardship.
Documenting artivism
I had the privilege of capturing this deeply collaborative process. The design of the artworks, blending of pigment and careful preparation of screens all harmonised to produce stunning works of artivism [art + activism].
It’s within spaces like this, the exchange of ideas and the quiet moments of care define the very act of commoning.
This body of work was showcased in an exhibition at Spike Island - an invitation to engage, reflect, and imagine new ways of coming together.
