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TILSON, Joe. Original double-sided colour photo-screenprint titled 'Q-Questions', signed and numbered 20/25 by the artist, printed on wove paper by Kelpra Studio, London. The 'Q-Questions' Print shows an image of the Great Sphinx of Giza screened in pink, with the phrase 'Q?' screened in black centred along the top edge and a still of the head of Greta Garbo screened on the head of the sphinx. In the process Tilson has used the screens to create a moire effect. The reverse image uses dots, circles and wavy lines in three colours, green gold and black, to create an abstract negative of the Great Sphinx. Originally published as part of the portfolio 'A-Z box.Fragments of an Oneiric Alphabet' in an edition of 25 box sets, 5 artist's proofs and 5 exhibition proofs, published by R. Alistair Mc Alpine Publishing, London in 1969-70. Sheet size: 75 x 50cm (image is to the edge of the sheet). Unframed. Slight crease in paper from left to right (see images) near bottom otherwise in Fine condition, as issued. Note: This is a particularly interesting image marrying a symbolic work from antiquity with an iconic star of the silver screen. Following her work in the film Mata Hari (1931), Garbo became known as The Swedish Sphinx, an epithet that acknowledged both the widespread exoticism triggered in part by the release of Mata Hari and to Garbo's transformation from chubby extra to the most beautiful woman that ever lived. Mata Hari is the Indonesian term for the sun, literally translating to eye of the day. The Egyptian Pharaoh whose image Garbo's character replaces is 'Kafra', or 'Kaf-Ra', which means 'Appearing like Ra', the Egyptian god whose eye was believed to be the sun. This is the reason Tilson created a moiré effect in which rays seem to emanate from Garbo's eyes. The artist, an early experimenter with printmaking in the 1960s, works often in his images to unsettle by using the tension between serialized production and an artwork's status as unique. Tilson excelled as a craftsman from an early point in his life. He first worked in a realist style during the 1950s, but adopted the commercial sheen of pop art in the 1960s. Tilson began creating prints during this decade, using consumer imagery, yet his work retained a handmade quality. He painted directly on the prints, making unique pieces from editioned series. The artist also added sculptural elements to his work, blurring the distinction between two- and three-dimensional space and disregarding any medium-specific hierarchies. His art later evolved away from pop content to address mythology and rural living, but Tilson has maintained the same interest in the handmade throughout his career. Seller Inventory # ABE-1697813614849
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