Artwork
Yesteryear
Yesteryear is a print by East London Printmakers. It dates from 2009 and is held in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum.
About this work
Overview
Yesteryear is a 2009 screenprint produced by East London Printmakers, capturing a quiet portrait of a young child. The image evokes the aesthetic of vintage family photographs through its soft focus and muted tones. Signed and numbered by the artist, the work carries the quiet authority of a personal archive fragment, framed within the conventions of limited-edition printmaking.
Subject & Meaning
The subject is a baby with dark hair, gazing directly at the viewer with a calm, uninflected expression. The neutral demeanor and blurred domestic background suggest an intimate, unposed moment from childhood. The title, Yesteryear, invites reflection on memory and the passage of time, framing the child not as a subject of celebration but as a silent witness to the past.
Technique & Style
Executed as a screenprint, the piece employs subtle layering to achieve a faded, photographic quality. The background is rendered in soft gradients, suggesting a window-lit interior without sharp definition. The child’s face, in higher contrast, remains the focal point, its details preserved with deliberate simplicity, echoing the grain and tonal limits of early 20th-century photography.
History & Provenance
Created in 2009 by East London Printmakers, the work is part of a limited series produced collaboratively by the collective. Each print is signed and numbered by artist Kaja Rawlings, who contributed the image and title. The print’s provenance is tied to the group’s commitment to accessible, handcrafted imagery rooted in everyday visual culture.
Context
The print emerges from a broader trend in contemporary British printmaking that revisits domestic and familial imagery through analog techniques. East London Printmakers, active since the 1980s, often draw from personal archives and vernacular photography, positioning their work as a quiet counterpoint to digital saturation in visual culture.
Legacy
Yesteryear contributes to a sustained dialogue within printmaking about memory, intimacy, and materiality. While not widely exhibited, it reflects the collective’s enduring influence on artists exploring the emotional weight of ordinary moments. Its restrained aesthetic continues to resonate within niche circles focused on handmade photographic prints.
Artist & collection
Artist
This group makes contemporary prints that tell everyday stories with sharp, colorful lines.
