Aphrodite is Herself Possibly 1970

This is 'Aphrodite is Herself', a print made by Ann Brunskill. It’s all in red, a celebration of the pleasures of printmaking, and a real testament to the process. The first thing that strikes you is the texture; the way the surface is built up from layers. There are areas where the red is really dense, and others where it's almost transparent, allowing the white of the paper to peek through. This gives the piece a kind of shimmering quality. Look at how Brunskill uses these tiny dots and lines to create a sense of form. It's almost like she's building up the image from a cloud of particles. Each mark feels deliberate, yet the overall effect is one of spontaneity and flow. The more you look the more details you find, like the subtle shift in color from a lighter pink to a deeper red. It reminds me of Kiki Smith's prints in the way it reworks classical mythology with a feminist sensibility. Brunskill shows us that art is always a conversation.