Big Fat X Hand Pulled Screenprint

When Rheged Gallery commissioned pieces for their 10th anniversary show, they wanted artists to reimagine typography. Most went conceptual. I went the opposite way — made the letter X as physical as possible.

Big Fat X — A 4-layer screenprint created for the Rheged 10th anniversary print exhibition in Cumbria. Small edition reimagining of the letter X.

Four screens, four passes through the press. Each layer building weight until the X sits heavy on the paper. This isn't about elegant letterforms or Swiss modernism — it's about giving a letter the presence of architecture.

The process matters here. Hand-pulled means each print carries the slight variations that make screenprinting honest. No two Xs sit exactly the same way. The registration shifts by fractions. The ink coverage varies where my squeegee pressure changed. These aren't flaws — they're proof someone made this by hand.

Typography used to be physical. Metal type, wooden letters, Letraset sheets you burnished down with a ballpoint pen. Everything had weight, texture, presence. Digital type floats — weightless, perfect, identical every time. This X has gravity.

The square format suits it. 400 x 400mm gives the letter room to breathe while keeping it contained. Signed and embossed because this is a numbered edition, not a poster. Only 14 exist.

Made in Kimpton, shipped unframed in acid-free tissue and a sturdy tube. Ready for someone who understands that letters can be more than functional — they can be sculptural, present, unapologetically bold.

Details:

• 4-layer hand-pulled screenprint
• Limited edition of 14
• 400 x 400mm (square format)
• Signed and embossed
• Sold unframed

This is for people who remember when typography had weight. When letters were objects, not files. When X marked more than just a spot — it marked presence.