VrijFormaat | Mixed Tapes

The latest project from The Netherlands-based design and printmaking duo VrijFormaat is a nostalgic tribute to audio cassette tapes. Although playing cassette tapes is a thing of the past for the designers, the nostalgic appeal still remains. These tapes were the first music carriers on which they could store their own personal preferences. Moreover, they took up the habit of richly decorating both the tapes and the covers. Unhindered by any professional knowledge and still blissfully unaware of graphic ‘rules’, they used to tackle them with markers, paint, and photocopies, playfully transforming them into artsy treasures that spoke their language. This project is a small tribute to that time. And just like with their taste in music, all kinds of things come along: abstract, realistic, light-hearted, intense, painted, drawn, and photographic.

The Playing with Tapes box is play on words, coming from playing with different printing techniques whilst also referring to the playing of audio tapes. In this limited edition box one can find 45 different designs reproduced by means of various printing techniques. Playing with Tapes is made in an edition of 25 numbered, hand-stamped and ‘retaped’ boxes, each containing 28 Riso prints, 7 screen prints, 3 linocuts, 2 relief prints (one with punch holes), 3 handstamped prints (1 with wooden letters, 2 with handmade stamps, made from unusual stamping materials like an old yoga mat), 1 tetrapak drypoint etching, and 1 laserprint with Omnicrom (for some extra nostalgia). The prints in this box are 7.5 x 10 cm, and the box itself is, of course, slightly bigger.

Like bonus tracks on music albums, you can also get a set of 10 bonus prints. VrijFormaat have made only 10 bonus sets (numbered), containing some screen prints, Risographs, and a linocut (only available in combination with the Playing with Tapes box).

Also available as part of their cassette tape-inspired series is a hand-pulled screenprint in 3 colours on 50 x 65 cm, 300 gr 300 grams Munken Polar Rough (edition of 20 signed and numbered prints), and a Cassette Tape Riso print in 2 colors on A4, 160 gr biotop (also part of VrijFormaats riso print series ‘Extra Ordinary’, prints of everyday objects). A selection of the Riso and screen prints that you can find in the box are also available in a small edition as combi-prints.

www.vrijformaat.nl
@vrijformaat

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