The Human Printer: Hand-Painted CMYK Reproductions by Stinsensqueeze

Designers Louise Naunton Morgan and Stina Pariente Gromark, co-founders of the London- and Paris-based studio Stinsensqueeze, launched The Human Printer in 2009. The project reproduces digital images by hand using the CMYK halftone process, mimicking inkjet printers. In 2019, for Selfridges' State of the Arts exhibition, they created 'Minecraft Sunset'—a 36-hour performance involving 25 people painting halftone dots with Liquitext acrylic markers on 5mm-thick PVC panels, each 12×27mm. The source image was generated in Minecraft, reflecting the project's themes of organic vs. inorganic and freedom vs. control. The work challenges the mechanization of society, with Morgan stating it highlights the importance of remembering human origins. The project blurs the line between fabricator and modeller, merging digital technology with pre-digital processes. It references Marshall McLuhan's rearview-mirror view and Mario Costa's aesthetics of communication, aiming for 'productive honesty' that allows irrationality without technological constraints.