Paul Binnie (born 1967), Pictorial Allusions, Reused Blocks: Los 41 Maricones de 1901 (test print),
7 1/2 x 11 in. (18.9 x 27.9 cm)

Pictorial Allusions, Reused Blocks: Los 41 Maricones de 1901,
Scholten Japanese Art

This print is the fourth in the ongoing Honga Dori project, a print series featuring antique woodblocks incorporated by Binnie into his own compositions, merging images from the past with the present, although this work is a slight departure in both subject and methodology. The subject is a tribute to persecuted gay men with an adaptation of an early 20th century black and white illustration by Mexican broadsheet artist José Guadalupe Posada (1852-1913) recording a significant event in queer history known as The Dance of the 41. Without access to Posada’s lost original blocks, Binnie created his own keyblock of the design by recarving the image directly from an enlargement copy of a postcard purchased during a trip to Mexico City.

To read more about this unusual Binnie release, click here.