Cocoon I

Screen printing is a printing technique that uses a woven mesh to support an ink-blocking stencil. The attached stencil forms open areas of mesh that transfer ink or other printable materials which can be pressed through the mesh as a sharp-edged image onto a substrate. A roller or squeegee is moved across the screen stencil, forcing or pumping ink past the threads of the woven mesh in the open areas. Screen printing is also a stencil method of print making in which a design is imposed on a screen of silk or other fine mesh, with blank areas coated with an impermeable substance, and ink is forced through the mesh onto the printing surface. It is also known as silkscreen, seriography, and serigraph. Having originally trained as a graphic designer and illustrator at Newcastle School of Art and Design, Hush’s art practice has taken him throughout Asia, Europe and the USA, while simultaneously developing his prominence as a contemporary artist. His immersion in a diversity of cultures has informed his work largely recognized for its portrayal of the amaranthine of the female form while infusing cross-cultural influences and variant genres within contemporary art. A distinguishing facet of Hush’s work is the complexity of his technique that combines various street approaches with traditional art practices. Through the use of opposing themes and aesthetics, the artist presents contemporary depictions of traditional portrait and figurative imagery. Absorbing cultural and visual influences from his extensive travels, Hush found a striking connection to the mark making, tagging and graffiti he had encountered along the way. He observed each ephemeral mark as evidence of another’s action or creative expression, despite its gradual degradation over time. He found the remnants of previous marks left on the ever-changing street surfaces to be progressive where accidental layering often evolved into something beautiful. Hush seeks to capture the beauty that years of decayed tagging can create and magnify the value of these actions through