Alexi Marshall
Bloodsucker Head, 2024
Ink on Kozuke paper
85.5 x 61 cm
33 5/8 x 24 in.
33 5/8 x 24 in.
Unique
Courtesy of the artist and Brooke Benington
Further images
The exhibition Nostalgia for the mud represents a primal desire to return to our roots, inspired by the eel's journey through life phases and its search for origin. This linocut...
The exhibition Nostalgia for the mud represents a primal desire to return to our roots, inspired by the eel's journey through life phases and its search for origin.
This linocut work is part of the Mandrake Triptych which depicts an obstacle to overcome in the form of a mandrake. The mandrake, buried in the mud (or the subconscious), is a metaphor for trauma, the inner child, the obstacle we must overcome on our soul journey.
The title of this piece comes from a type of “Green Man” head, a mysterious ancient symbol found in churches around the world. The bloodsucker variant has foliage coming from every orifice. This linocut is based on a photograph of the artist as a bloodsucker head. Its place in the Mandrake Triptych is to show the mandrake inside the body/subconscious, with its leaves emerging outward, unable to be ignored anymore.
