Paula Wilson

In The Desert

Artist Paula Wilson worked in residence at Island Press in May of 2015 and created a series of works inspired by actual throw rugs she made. Wilson, who is a master of the collagraph process, worked between intaglio and relief on two giant plates, creating arrays of color with a la poupeé (where multiple colors of ink are wiped on the plate simultaneously). Printed on muslin and mounted to wood slats or hung like tapestries, the works are faux rugs that explore gender, race, and sexuality, using the human backside as symbol and canvas. In the Desert: Mooning is an editioned work that became the foundation for the rest of the series. Wilson worked with early proofs from the development of In the Desert: Mooning and created the rest of the series by collaging scraps of printed muslin.

Paula points to the top right section of her print outline on the table while three other people look on

Over the shoulder view of Paula adding details onto a large print on a large table

3 people rubbing black ink onto a large print on the table

Paula adding a flower cutout detail to her large blue and green cactus print hanging on the wall

5 large final Paula Wilson prints hang to dry on a clothesline. The prints differ in color and feature cacti, figures sitting under an umbrella and a butt in the center.

Paula Wilson and Tom Reed flank her large print that is taller than them both and features flowers, cacti, a large butt and people sitting under an umbrella

Paula Wilson PROOF publication brochure with essay by Stephanie Schlaifer

Editions from this project

Collage of printed textile, desert, and figural shapes in blue, brown tone, blacks, and grays.

Black and white monotype of two figures flanked by cacti with a green, red, and pink border

Image of a black and white tapestry of figures sitting in a landscape framed by cactus and trees

Image of horizontal strips of wood with black tassels at the bottom of the image

Image of a rug with a desert scene on a brown background

Multi-color print of the lower half of a human figure surrounded by pink flowers, green plants, and blue sky

Monoprint collage representing the lower half of a human figure topped by black and blue flowers and flanked on either side by images of cacti

Image of lower half of a figure facing away and topped with flowers in front of a blue background

A abstract monoprint collage of off-white, taupe, yellow, and blue shapes

Image of a striped brown and tan rug with black tassels

Image of cactus on a light blue sky background framed by orange tassels on top and bottom