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The Sleep Cycle: Letterpress


A Full Sleep Cycle Disjointed Sleep Cycle Second Half of a Hypnogram Disjointed Sleep Cycle Disjointed Sleep Cycle



‘The Sleep Cycle’ is a visual interpretation and response to the cyclical stages of
sleep, primarily focussing on using letterpress printing to express concrete poetry,
mark making and abstracted imagery surrounding the topic.





The Exhausted Letterpress The brain waves emitted during sleep (in order)




Sleep is a naturally recurring state of mind and body. When we sleep, the body
alternates between two distinct modes: REM and non-REM sleep. The inspiration
behind this project came from Professor Matthew Walker’s book, 'Why We Sleep’, which
explores twenty years of research to solve the mystery of why sleep matters.







Line 34 Line 35 Line 36 Line 37 Passage Cross Hatch Passage Cross Hatch Tiring Passage




William Shakespeare, Macbeth, II.II.XXXIV







Textured Hypnogram Brain Wave Hypnogram Turpentine Hypnogram Brain Wave Hypnogram Hypnogram Squared Stacked Hypnogram Double printed Hypnogram Double Printed Hypnogram


Letterpress printing offers a unique aesthetic which reflects the human connection and
interaction involved in the printing process. Through traditional and un-conventional
methods, I experimented the tangible qualities that letterpress offers in order to express
the emotional, physiological and similarly unpredictable phenomena.










In these letterpress experimentations using wood and lead type, I used the gradually
fading quality of ink (as a result of continually printing without reapplying it) to express
feelings of exhaustion, as though the ink itself was tiring. In this sense, it acts as a way of
conveying a poetic sense, creating deeper layers of meaning through the process,
and not just through the content.


  

© ellrws 2022