I was a bit flummoxed by he #printersolstice prompt conceptual art. Then I remembered an idea I had toyed with for some time.
"This is the Arctic with the range of the polar bear: its habitat. And this is what happens when we heat it.”
This is an interactive lino block print which changes colour! A map of the Arctic looking down on the North pole is handprinted in a delicate cream colour on white Japanese kozo (or mulberry) washi paper. On top of the map, I have printed the range of the polar bear in blue complete with a polar bear and the aurora (or Northern Lights) and the word habitat in fuchsia. I have mixed the blue and fuchsia inks myself: they are made with thermochromic temperature sensitive pigments. If these inks rise about 30 degrees Celsius (70 degrees Fahrenheit) they turn colourless, so if you heat the print, for instance with a hair dryer, the range, polar bear and word habitat all disappear. The print is called “As we warm the Arctic” and is about habitat loss due to climate change.
