The Lockdown Alphabet

For sale now!

The Lockdown Alphabet, a letterpress and linocut commentary on the Coronavirus crisis.

Featuring 600 pt Franklin Gothic Demi hand cut from lino, and metal type, printed on Fabriano Rosaspina white printmaking paper, paper size approx 295 mm x 420 mm.

NZ$25 per print, $650 for the set of 28 prints.

“A personal piece that manages to achieve a seemingly effortless universality, while remaining both modest and restrained… paper and ink serve as a tangible reminder that this time does not exist in a vacuum.” - Sarah Jane Parton, artist, curator, academic and activist.

“…speaks quietly to our place and situation in the world. These works are not like any others I have seen.” - Mark Amery, arts critic, editor and writer.

In late March 2020, Aotearoa was given 48 hours notice before the country went into what we called the Level 4 lockdown. Everything closed. No-one could leave their house except to exercise (by themselves) or buy food or necessities. Only essential workers could go to a workplace.

“I always wanted to cut a large alphabet. It is really hard to get large wooden type these day so I thought I’d cut one in lino and, because I was thinking about The Lockdown and the Covid-19 crisis, I wanted to respond to that and comment on it.

I usually tend towards serif types but there’s something simple and symbolic about large sanserif display types which really appeals to me just because of their simplicity. They’re not necessarily easy because if you cut a serif type, it’s actually easier to hide your mistakes in the serifs and the complex curves. I wanted something just simple and bold, and one that just has the alphabet reduced to the simplest forms, the simplest shapes.

In many ways The Lockdown Alphabet is me going back to my early days the first public art I really did was protest banners, simple slogans and pithy texts.

I will also be printing a limited letterpress edition booklet of the commentary that accompanies the Alphabet. The final edition is still being printed so it might take a wee while to get your prints to you.” - Joe Buchanan, printmaker

Joe will also be working on a limited edition booklet of the commentary that accompanied each print.