WRS_THG is the creation of The Hague-based print-Lover, neon Enthusiast, and paper fetishist, Anna. The label is mixture of the two cities that she sees as home; Warsaw and The Hague. For years, Anna has been addicted to screen printing and colour research. She graduated with two graphic design diplomas; the first from Fine Art Academy in Łódź, Poland (ASP – Akademia Sztuk Pięknych), and the second from The Royal Academy of Art in the Hague (KABK – Koninklijke Academie van Beeldende Kunsten), The Netherlands.
Anna has worked with big institutions such as the Stedelijk Museum of Contemporary Art in Amsterdam as a student jury member for The Best Design Dutch Book (De Best Verzorgde Boeken), Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision (Nederlands Instituut voor Beeld en Geluid), Van Abbe Museum in Eindhoven, Mama(Media and Moving Art), Queer Amsterdam film production, COA (Asilium Seeker Centrum), Waag- Technology and Society, and Hortus Botanicus Amsterdam.
Inspiration for her works comes from “all over the place”, and both of the schools she attended still continue to have a strong impact on her creativity. “History of Polish School of Posters, Warsaw’s graffiti, murals and general street art of Łódź City, all helped me find mediums that I would like to work with and express myself” says Anna. Whilst studying, she first discovered silkscreen printing; a common printing technique used by many polish artists to experiment and produce editions. However, Anna observed something different in Dutch graphic design; “…for example in projects from artists like Hansje van Halem or Michiel Schuurman, they were strong, dynamic, energetic, expressive, outspoken, vibrant, free and flexible. And I felt like this is me. I couldn’t resist the fact that I was identifying myself with their work immediately”. It was from here that Anna decided to start experimenting.
Her first steps when creating are always purely digital. “I melt myself away in RGB palette and how juicy colours can be and what can I make from it” describes the printmaker. Anna makes collages and experiments with filters, providing her with endless possibilities and the chance to play with shapes and images. Next, she puts everything through different bitmaps creating controlled grain. “In 99% of the cases, my bitmap is pixelated because I like that contrast of raw Tech-SCREEN aesthetic printed on paper” states Anna. While preparing negatives, she thinks ahead, planning an order of printing, and deciding on which neon ink she would like to use; “neon ink gives that juiciness that CMYK takes away”.
“Over all, the secret that I really like about this entire process is that I found my own way to produce digitally looking images by using old school, traditional techniques, resulting in analogue poster that look screen-cosmic.”
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