Laurence Hyde

Picture available at: http://www.springfieldnewssun.com/hp/content/oh/story/entertainment/2008/07/24/sns072408lifeberona.html

accessed 22 April 2012

Laurence Hyde was born near London. He immigrated with his family to Canada in 1926...During his life he produced many pan-and-ink illustration, wood engravings and linocuts for illustrated books.

He contributed in 2 unfinished series of prints, Discovery and Macbeth. 

picture available at: http://www.glenbow.org/collections/art/research/hyde.cfm

accessed 22 April 2012

Southern Cross is a wordless novel, told in 118 wood engravings about Americans testing the atomic bomb in the South Pacific following the II. World War. Hyde explained his fury with the United States. He depicts people from the island how happy they lived their life till the American sailors appeared and evacuated them from their home. (Berona, 2008 p. 214)

                                picture available at: http://www.montrealmirror.com/2007/112207/books1.html

accessed 22 April 2012

              picture available at: http://voiceseducation.org/category/tag/southern-cross-novel-south-seas

accessed 22 April 2012

A family with a child remains on the island after the father kills a sailor. They sadly become victims of the bomb test. The child has to witness to how the parents die. (Berona, 2008 p. 215)

Hyde expresses his pacifist feelings, he is playing around with black and white, using more white space when everything is nice and happy and when the American soldiers arrive everything turns in dark. (Berona, 2008 p. 216)

As Juliet Water explains "Wood engraving is so labour intensive, it’s difficult to tell a story without making generous use of negative space.". Montreal Mirror (2007) Creating negative space requires lots of cutting. Looking at his book one can recognize the power of the lines and strong contrasts. Each picture could be a separate picture on the wall but all together creates an indelible impact on our lives.

Glenbow Museum, 2012 Laurence Hyde Available at: http://www.glenbow.org/collections/art/research/hyde.cfm Accessed 22 April 2012

Berona, D. A. (2008) Wordless Book The original graphic novels. Abram, New York