Early video game consoles like the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) were designed with a reset button. When pressed, this button scrambled, and then rebooted, the software running on the console. While it was not necessarily the intent of this feature, the reset button on my NES often got used in a release of frustration. My finger would jam this button in a fit of annoyance at an overly challenging level, or seemingly unbeatable computer opponent.
This work was made in 2021 as part of a larger body of screenprints and works on paper. These works mark a shift in my studio practice - a transition from the creation of concretely narrative compositions to the use of a more abstract language. They reflect on personal change, and on the climate of change in contemporary culture. They consider the ways that narratives anchor us, and the challenges that come when those ties are broken. They also consider the messy nature of operating outside of the story and the resolve that is necessary in resetting a narrative entirely.
This print is a unique one-of-one work which was built layer by layer with no pre-determined solution. Each layer was placed intuitively to respond to and cover up the previous choices. Many of the repeated motifs in the prints are abstracted from 8- and 16-bit video games and reflect on themes such as unrest, resolve, reward and consequence.
