Elizabeth Ensz

God Bless our Hummer
silkscreen dye on cotton

I make decorative system-based patterns that are often narrative and socially critical. The ideas of repetition and variation interest me as a metaphor for the conformity of people within large groups.

In a silkscreen repeat pattern when the rules of registration are followed, the pattern is upheld.
Breaking the system can result in the module being printed upside down, in the wrong color, or being misplaced entirely. In a system with a prescribed course and outcome, spontaneity is undesirable and creates disruption and irregularity. The resulting regularity is calming and disarming because of its visual stability. Likewise, a system for standardizing culture and morality is being instituted in the name of Homeland Security and global stability.

© Elizabeth Ensz