ART WORKS
Ink Pads, 1991-97

Oversized inkpads are exhibited, opened, on the wall. They are at once sculptures and paintings ... they are about potential. The metal cases open onto the wall to display the wet inkpad - the changeable 'painting' inside. The pads are re inked at various times.

Each titled, Ink Pad, a number of works in various sizes were made in black ink, then blue ink and later, red ink. A rubber stamp company in London who advertised "Ink Pads - any size possible" made the first work. To their surprise Abigail ordered one approximately her own body size. The works thereafter were larger, conforming to standard sheet metal dimensions and were fabricated differently. The pads have an aluminium base covered with felt layers, cotton and ink. The earlier works had MDF inside instead of aluminium and were less stable.

The works were sometimes shown on top of the Bottom Wallpaper, sometimes not. The red Ink Pads were more often shown on top of the Bloody Wallpaper. A series of four 8ft x 10ft black Ink Pads were shown as part of Abigail's first solo exhibition, Making History at Karsten Schubert gallery in London, 1992. They were shown extensively thereafter; notably, Castello di Rivoli Museum, Italy in 1994 as part of the Sogetto Sogetto exhibition and Painting - the extended field at Magasin 3, Stockholm, Sweden, 1996. 

 

Ink Pad (black)
1 of 10
Ink Pad (black)
1991-97
Aluminium, Cotton covered felt layeres and Ink
235 x 289.6 x 2.545 cm open
Photo by Alex Hartley. 'Making History', Karsten Schubert gallery, London, 1992
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