Ina Kaur
Abreast of (from series: Reclaiming the circle), multi-plate color etching, relief & stencil, 24" x 18"
Are there specific associations towards color in your work?
I have developed my visual language that uses abstraction and repetition. Personal associations and connections are at the core of my work. Color choices are instinctive and help me construct my mythology and meaning. I primarily use warm, earthy, and grey colors as they overall provide a sense of groundedness and calmness. At times these color choices also help in expressing bold and intense feelings. Colors assist by evoking emotional and psychological responses while attributing aesthetically to the works.
“My work examines the discursive relationship between knowledge and being.”
“Juxtaposing color, pulling and pushing its saturation and hue provides a subliminal message.”
Ina Kaur is an artist living and working between cultures and continents. Currently, she is working out of her studio InkSpace in Bangalore, India. She approaches color instinctively yet consciously, and her approach to the printmaking process is with immediacy and control. Kaur's print practice uses processes like etching, relief, litho, stenciling, and blind embossment.
Her works employ abstraction and simple rudimentary forms that allow the transition between tangible and intangible concepts. In addition to printmaking, her practice extends to include drawing, sculpture, installation, and collaborative art in the public interest. Her search continues into the ever-shifting, evolving notion of self within our existing cultural paradigms.
Memoirs (from series: Reclaiming the circle), multi-plate color etching & stencil, 22" x 15"
Juxtapose, Multi-plate color etching, relief & stencil, 24" x 18"
“...the color grey...visually expressed this unification to bridge the gap between binary opposition as everything can’t be perceived and understood in black and white.”
How does the printmaking process itself relate to how you work with color?
My work examines the discursive relationship between knowledge and being. Reflecting on displaced connections, belonging, and notions of self, I inquire to understand structural complexity to negotiate unique, pluralistic & hybrid identities in my work.
I build my prints by layering multiple matrices, whether utilizing the same print process or by combining various print processes. The printed layers of color and form help construct meaning by providing a symbolic narrative and help to create spatial depth. Color assists with defining the bold deep etched lines in the prints, showcase distinctive flats, repetitive patterns, or portray subtle aquatints. Juxtaposing color, pulling and pushing its saturation and hue provides a subliminal message.
My multiple color plate printing helps develop the work and its meaning through its complex layering and simple imagery. Previous color impressions define the next layer. So the print process is in sync with the application of color in the works.
Entangled Scape (series), multi-plate Intaglio & stencil, 12” x 12”
What would your work be without color?
No color is the 'presence of the absence of color.' Some of my work uses either one color or less, and this decision supports the intent, context, and expressive quality of the image. For example, the project "Exploration in Grey" uses only grey (a subtle light grey). Color (or a lack of it) still contributes to the meaning of the work.
The series, “Exploration in Grey” examines the underlying layers of complexity associated with verbal and written expressions of cultural identity. The project inquires into whether language helps define or limits a person's identity and potential. In an attempt to find synthesis within the limited binary structure of the language, I utilized the color grey. It visually expressed this unification to bridge the gap between binary opposition as everything can't be perceived and understood in black and white.
Transcendent (from series: Exploration in Grey), color etching, relief, blind embossment & stencil 24" x 18"