The Process
Step One
LLLinked began with a 24”x18” sheet of Strathmore 500 Series 4-ply Bristol Board. It was gridded into 12, 6”x6” squares. This is Sheet 1. All sheets are gridded this way.
Step Two
The square numbering system uses an (x,y) grid. The first character is either a ‘P’ or ‘N’ to denote ‘positive’ or ‘negative’ on the x-axis. Next is a string denoting the number on the x-axis. After that, another ‘P’ or ‘N’ to denote ‘positive’ or ‘negative’ on the y-axis. Finally, another string denoting the number on the y-axis. For example, (2,1) is ‘P2P1’ and (-2, 13) is ‘N2P13’. LLLinked began at point (0,0).
Step Three
As the lines of LLLinked filled Sheet 1, Sheet 2 was butted up against the top edge of Sheet 1 and LLLinked continued to grow. Subsequent sheets move clockwise around Sheet 1. A particular sheet isn’t fully complete until LLLinked expands into the eight sheets that surround it.
Step Four
When a sheet is complete, it’s cut into 12 squares. Each square is scanned and the sheet is rebuilt in Photoshop in order to create the digital file needed for printing. Because LLLinked is made by hand and therefore imperfect, minor corrections are made in Photoshop so that sheets fit seamlessly together.
Step Five
99 prints are made of every sheet. To uniquely identify every square, the following information is added by hand to the back of every sheet:
- Square number
- Sheet number
- Print number
- Print year
Then, each sheet is cut by hand into its 12 squares.
Step Six
Finally, each square is labeled with a unique QR Code + RFID label, signed, and stamped by hand. Every single LLLinked square is unique. No two squares are exactly the same. The only squares that fit perfectly together are the 12 squares of a sheet with the same print number (e.g. the 12 squares that make up print number 52 of Sheet 1 fit perfectly together because they were cut from the same sheet of paper).
