REDUCTION LINOCUT

Reduction linocut is a variation of the standard linocut process that introduces colour and complexity through a single block and an element of irreversible commitment. Rather than carving separate blocks for each colour, the artist works progressively: the block is partially carved, printed in a light colour, then carved further, and printed again in a darker colour. Each pass through the press destroys part of the previous state of the block. This process, which was developed and popularised by Pablo Picasso in the late 1950s, requires the artist to plan each stage in advance, since once a layer of linoleum has been removed, it cannot be recovered. The block is gradually consumed as the print is built up, which means the edition size is determined at the very beginning: however many prints are pulled in the first pass is the maximum possible. The results are richly layered and often visually complex, with colours overlapping and interacting in ways that would be difficult to achieve with separate blocks. The technique demands a particular kind of forward thinking because the image must be imagined in reverse, layer by layer, before a single cut is made.