BCA in London Etching vs Lino Print

I found it quite amusing that there was a library dedicated to Henry Tate right next to the Black Cultural Archives. (BCA)

The BCA was smaller than I thought however the store they had was filled with multiple books on black Britain than i have found in any book store.


The one thing that did benefit me from visiting the BCA in person was that I got to see a lot of the old protest posters. The use of print (especially lino and mono) of the late 80's was very interesting to see especially since I want to use  print elements to my own practical work.

Seeing the consistent use of lino print in Black British Protest posters in comparison to Cruickshanks and other anti-abolitionist artists use of etching in the 19th century is an interesting comparison.

The reason why being that etching used to be one of the fastest forms of protest media back before the 20th century and tended to be a form of protest used by those who could afford the inks and acids needed alongside a printing press, usually back by wealthy patrons to afford the etching equipment. Whereas in more recent times lino print has become the favoured printing method of the minority and oppressed class as it allows for a lot more improvisation in the quality of the equipment used.

Both methods use mass production but one method is built of elitism while the other has become the a crucial tool of the oppressed.

For the social contextual reasons alone lino printing shows itself as the better suited print method for the work I will produce alongside my essay as it links further into the context of protesting, black underground resistances and is part of black british protest history. And is not a protest a way of educating the masses about the unjust treatment of the minorities?

I want my work to educate on unjust past teaching and how they still hold significant effect today. And maybe I may need more than just a series of prints to do that.