Erika Shiba
Erika Shiba
What is it that you create?
My practice consists of printmaking and drawing. I create
a psychological universe, which I like to call a “mentalscape,” through my etchings and graphite drawings. The work I make exists as documents of discovery in this space. I also enjoy suggesting logic, then contradicting it. I use geometric forms to signify balance and stability and then pair them with structures that defy the laws of architecture. These are often convoluted and operate as meta- phors for cognition.
How did you find printmaking?
I took an “Intro to Printmaking” class my second year of college - I signed up for it with little to no knowledge or expectations to sim- ply fulfill my academic require- ments. As the course went on I slowly started to fall in love with the intricate process of the dif- ferent printmaking techniques as well as their versatility. The love and energy I felt in the print shop was also something that drew me closer to it every time I went in to print. The community and support of printmakers I have met is truly special and I find them to be one of my biggest inspirations whilst making work.
Your work uses black and white to play with light and shadows, what do you enjoy about the absence of color?
Colors have many connotations at- tached to them so I think working in a monochromatic palette allows me to focus purely on form and shape. I also think, in terms of my drawings, that graphite gives a cold, detached and sterile quality to the overall im- age. This lets me think of the men- talscape universe as a space that has never been touched by outsiders; this symbolizes the inaccessibility of one’s psyche to others.
How does printmaking as a medium give you the ability or freedom to do that other mediums don’t, and in- versely, where does it limit you?
As a drawer, one of the first things that enticed me to printmaking was the ability to create multiples of an image. Unlike a large painting or a drawing that could be owned by only one select person, printmaking is more democratic in that the same print can be dispersed and enjoyed by a larger group of people. Another quality I enjoy about printmaking is the physical and time-consuming nature of its process. It involves a lot of steps to create a print which re- quires you to move around the shop a lot and be very physically involved in its process. Oftentimes when I am working on a plate, I’m suspended in a mental vacuum where I can block out the outside world. I also love the problem-solving aspect involved in printmaking - when something goes wrong technically, it requires me to do some mental acrobatics in order to figure out the issue. As an artist, it is also freeing to have the ability to be experimental with a traditional process.
My practice consists of printmaking and drawing. I create
a psychological universe, which I like to call a “mentalscape,” through my etchings and graphite drawings. The work I make exists as documents of discovery in this space. I also enjoy suggesting logic, then contradicting it. I use geometric forms to signify balance and stability and then pair them with structures that defy the laws of architecture. These are often convoluted and operate as meta- phors for cognition.
How did you find printmaking?
I took an “Intro to Printmaking” class my second year of college - I signed up for it with little to no knowledge or expectations to sim- ply fulfill my academic require- ments. As the course went on I slowly started to fall in love with the intricate process of the dif- ferent printmaking techniques as well as their versatility. The love and energy I felt in the print shop was also something that drew me closer to it every time I went in to print. The community and support of printmakers I have met is truly special and I find them to be one of my biggest inspirations whilst making work.
Your work uses black and white to play with light and shadows, what do you enjoy about the absence of color?
Colors have many connotations at- tached to them so I think working in a monochromatic palette allows me to focus purely on form and shape. I also think, in terms of my drawings, that graphite gives a cold, detached and sterile quality to the overall im- age. This lets me think of the men- talscape universe as a space that has never been touched by outsiders; this symbolizes the inaccessibility of one’s psyche to others.
How does printmaking as a medium give you the ability or freedom to do that other mediums don’t, and in- versely, where does it limit you?
As a drawer, one of the first things that enticed me to printmaking was the ability to create multiples of an image. Unlike a large painting or a drawing that could be owned by only one select person, printmaking is more democratic in that the same print can be dispersed and enjoyed by a larger group of people. Another quality I enjoy about printmaking is the physical and time-consuming nature of its process. It involves a lot of steps to create a print which re- quires you to move around the shop a lot and be very physically involved in its process. Oftentimes when I am working on a plate, I’m suspended in a mental vacuum where I can block out the outside world. I also love the problem-solving aspect involved in printmaking - when something goes wrong technically, it requires me to do some mental acrobatics in order to figure out the issue. As an artist, it is also freeing to have the ability to be experimental with a traditional process.
More From Issue 03
You have recurring shapes and ob- jects. What is it about symbols that you enjoy?
When I can’t speak my thoughts, I draw. For this reason, I view the symbols and shapes that I create to be extensions of my psyche. Each symbol I create, which I like to call “thoughtpoints,” represents journal entries, inner dialogues, or memories. Sometimes I construct a form with a certain emotion or thought in mind, which can be personal, polit- ical, or cultural. Other times I intui- tively make a form and assign mean- ing to it after the fact. The meaning and existence of these thoughtpoints are covert and vague to conceal their origins from viewers. Codifying my thoughts allows me to externalize my psyche without oversharing or revealing too much, which I find to be a vulnerable and intimate act that I am not ready to do yet in my work.
When I can’t speak my thoughts, I draw. For this reason, I view the symbols and shapes that I create to be extensions of my psyche. Each symbol I create, which I like to call “thoughtpoints,” represents journal entries, inner dialogues, or memories. Sometimes I construct a form with a certain emotion or thought in mind, which can be personal, polit- ical, or cultural. Other times I intui- tively make a form and assign mean- ing to it after the fact. The meaning and existence of these thoughtpoints are covert and vague to conceal their origins from viewers. Codifying my thoughts allows me to externalize my psyche without oversharing or revealing too much, which I find to be a vulnerable and intimate act that I am not ready to do yet in my work.
READ THE FULL INTERVIEW IN ISSUE THREE
