The Bumper Bar

Your bumper bar /
Cushions tactfully on tar /
And prone it may be /
To the bends, like your knee /
Has manoeuvring at heart /
Prime protects, if in part /
'round roads & round backs /
Impromptu olfactory attacks /
Far fetched or squeal near /
Bump yourself into /
The 'oh' zone's flip gear ///


•The Bumper Bar• is a work that looks at the parallels between humans and cars, their potential points of contact, and their protective actions and devices, albeit in an oblique manner and in an essentially abstracted mode. Bumper bars signify extremities, extrusions, emissions, & potential connectivity. •The Bumper Bar• is in some respects a companion piece to another work, entitled •Tailgate Picnic•, the two sharing certain points of reference and compositional devices. The work was printed in Japan from locally sourced woods, the central ovoid 'bumper' shape being offset from cut log-ends of Japanese cedar ('sugi' • 杉), obtained from mountainside lumber-milling outposts and prepared in such a way so as to enhance the inherent woodgrain; the other areas of the composition having been printed from various ply and like woods. All printing was done using a hand-held 'baren', without the aid of a printing press.

Size

38cm x 57cm

Prints

7

Technique

Xylography