Up the River From Golden Shore to DTLA, 2015

The imagery in this work is multi layered with observational drawings that I made while traveling by bike up the Los Angeles river. Imagery is separated by different printmaking mediums and as well as colors. The different plates, block and screen are printed on top of each other in a pile that entices the viewer to pick through the experience the drawings were created from. The network of imagery is a form of midden heap that welcomes viewers to pick through and is open to re-interpertations of the experience they were created around. Drawing subjects are very ordinary. Various subjects captured are simple concrete forms abundant at sections of the river, birds, quick sketches of people, snacks and articles of litter. The colors are meant to make the imagery of the print seem map like but instead of leading to specific locations, the imagery points to an inward and experiential version of the location of the Los Angeles River. Artist Statement (Christian Ward): To familiarize myself with the space of the Los Angeles River I must ride its path north via bicycle. The path begins in Long Beach at the Golden Shore Biological Reserve. Riding up river, one will encounter a sleek, human control over this waterway. The engineered concrete serves as a backdrop for migrating birds. I stop frequently but quickly. I sketch horizon lines filled with water towers, transformer boxes, palm trees and clumpy freeway nests. Resting and sketching, I encounter people briefly and eat snacks stowed from home. Returning to the studio, I unpack any left over snacks, sketchbook, and drawing materials. The pile of objects grows on the studio desk and the journey up the river floods back into memory. I separate the quick sketchbook drawings with tracing paper and begin the process of transforming them with printmaking mediums. I want this print to seem map like but without the concrete definition of a map. In multiple layers of serigraphy, relief and copper etching, I overlay images onto a single piece of cotton rag. The different layers amount to an open-ended map of my experience. As the different colored lines sit atop each other, my eye is guided through the jumble of my experience along the river in new ways. By processing the hands-on act of riding up the river through printmaking mediums I feel I have gained a better understanding of the space called the Los Angeles River.