JEFF WETZIG - Artist Statement

 

All fences are prints.  All fences create prints.  Fences are meant to “imprint” first and foremost, a separation or an ending of one individual’s (or group’s) space and the beginning of another’s.  But fences go further than simple separation of space.  They are “impressions” of possession, protection, and otherness for those inside and outside the fence.

Woodcut printing is chosen for this meditation on the fence because of its physicality.  Hand carving is a labor-intensive way to make an image.  Printing the block results in an impressing and embossing of the inked image into the fibers of the paper.  Inherent to the tradition of printmaking is the edition, or multiple originals.  Here the editioning and installation is not used to create multiple individual prints, but to create endless extensions, each a re-creation of the fence impression.