Clavicle Clay, 2019

Aritst Phoebe Collings-James’ print draws from the netted mask worn in her 16mm film Mother Tongue, Mother Master (2018). In the moving image work, the mask bound the artist’s mouth and face — constraining her voice while rendering the body hyper-visible. Sound persisted, suggesting both rupture and resistance.

Isolated in print, the netting becomes a charged residue. The figure is no longer present, yet its imprint lingers. The mesh reads simultaneously as barrier, armour and trace; a structure that restricts but also records.

The work reflects Phoebe Collings-James’ wider exploration of the poetics and emotional debris of violence. Across her practice, containment and desire exist in tension; vulnerability and agency are inseparable. Here, the absent body is felt rather than seen, evoking lived experience within hostile environments while refusing silence.

In risograph printing, each colour is printed as a separate pass through a risograph machine — a stencil-based duplicator that presses organic soy inks into the paper. Risograph inks are naturally vibrant — they are renowned for their vivid colours and evident textures. The inks are transparent so layers build to create more colours. Slight shifts in registration and a soft grain make every impression subtly unique.

Clavicle Clay is printed on Olin natural white 170gsm, an uncoated, FSC-certified stock whose gentle warmth lets the colours glow. The edition is strictly limited to 100 and will never be reprinted. All prints were produced at the London Centre for Book Arts.