The image is printed on navigational charts retired from use on the APL President Wilson. Six separate blocks were used (though the first is nearly invisible).
I chose to create the carp print after sailing around the Pacific and delivering cargo to Japan, China, and South Korea. The carp and koi fishes have strong cultural relevance in the region, and have historically been represented in visual art work. There is a Chinese legend of the Dragon’s Gate, which is described on Wikipedia: “The legend states that while many carp swim upstream against the river’s strong current, few are capable or brave enough for the final leap over the waterfall. If a carp successfully makes the jump, it is transformed into a powerful dragon.” The metaphor is one of struggle towards a worthy goal.
“The Helmsman” is five plates printed onto navigational charts that had been in use onboard Foss tugboats, SeaCor’s Ocean Giant, and APL’s President Wilson. They were printed using a homemade printing press.
If interested, contact me via instagram DM @joshbarlas or email joshbarlas@gmail.com
“Endurance” used six plates printed onto navigational charts. These charts were used in navigation of the Ocean Giant, a heavy lift ship that makes a yearly voyage to McMurdo Station in Antarctica.
The Endurance was the ship that Ernest Shackleton set sail f0r Antarctica in January of 1914. The ship became ice bound in 1915 and sank in November of that year. Ernest Shackleton survived nearly insurmountable odds and managed to save his entire crew. He’s cited as one of the most admirable maritime leaders, though he died broke at the age of 47. In 1959, Alfred Lansing’s Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage was published, memorializing the voyage of the Endurance, and standing out as an enduring work of literature.
If interested, contact me via instagram DM @joshbarlas or email joshbarlas@gmail.com
This stencil mural was spray painted onto the bulkhead of the Ocean Giant’s Engine Room. Photos record the process and final result. The image is approximately 2 1/2′ by 3′. The ship tends to make a circuit between the arctic and Antarctic, and I was aboard during the 2023 trip to McMurdo station in Antarctica. I also used the stencil to make poster-sized prints onto navigational charts that had been used aboard the ship.
“Ocean Giant” is a single plate printed on Navigational Charts as well as Wanderings Handmade White Deckle Edge Blank Paper. These charts were used in the navigation of the Ocean Giant, SeaCor’s heavy lift ship. A shop press in the engine room of the ship was used as a printing press.
“St. Christopher” used five plates printed onto navigational charts. These charts were used in navigation of Foss tugboats.
St. Christopher is the patron saint of travelers and sailors. He was a giant who offered to carry a child across a rushing river. When, halfway across, he began to struggle under an unbearable weight, the small child, revealed to be Christ, explained that St. Christopher was holding the weight of the world and responsibility for its safe passage as he crossed the river.
If interested, contact me via instagram DM @joshbarlas or email joshbarlas@gmail.com
“Not Yet A Breach, But An Expansion” is two plates printed onto expired navigational charts. These charts had been used to navigate aboard Foss tugboats. The paper is high quality, untextured, and is not highly absorbent. This is the first print made using the printing press that my father and I made using a vice press to generate pressure. The title is a reference to John Donne’s poem, “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning.”
“The Tower” was printed on navigational training charts. Cal Maritime students used these charts to learn navigational skills and prepare for licensing exams. The paper is heavy and absorbent. This image was pressed by hand and without a press of any kind.
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