'Meshes of the Afternoon' is a new silkscreen poster edition by Sterling Hundley.

Meshes of the Afternoon is an experimental short film by Maya Deren and Alexander Hammid, considered one of the most influential works in avant-garde cinema. The film is a dreamlike, surreal meditation on inner psychological states, identity, and time. It follows a woman (played by Deren) who repeatedly falls asleep and experiences a looping, fragmented reality where she chases a mysterious hooded figure with a mirror for a face, encounters multiple versions of herself, and engages with symbolic objects, such as a key, a knife, and a telephone. The film creates a sense of disorientation through innovative editing, shifting perspectives, and an elastic approach to time and space.

Upon its release, Meshes of the Afternoon was a groundbreaking work in experimental cinema, though it had a limited initial audience. Over time, it gained recognition as a seminal piece of avant-garde filmmaking, particularly within feminist film studies, due to its exploration of the female psyche and subjective experience. It sits within the lineage of surrealist cinema (alongside works like Un Chien Andalou by Buñuel and Dalí) but distinguishes itself through its deeply personal and psychological focus.

The film’s visual and thematic elements influenced later surrealist and experimental filmmakers and mainstream directors such as David Lynch. Made for just a few hundred dollars, using a 16mm Bolex camera and natural lighting, and primarily filmed in and around Maya Deren and Alexander Hammid’s home in Los Angeles, it has a highly personal and intimate feel.

One of the most striking images in the film is the hooded figure with a reflective mirror for a face. This unsettling character can be interpreted as a representation of death, fate, or even the protagonist’s own fractured identity.

Sterling Hundley's visual interpretation of the film draws upon the foreboding nature of the mirror-faced character and the significance of the paper poppy, which appears periodically within the film's nonlinear narrative. The composition of the two characters does not represent a single scene within the film. Instead, the composition creates a new reality that could be perceived outside of the original film as a kind of memory of it.

We are thrilled to have collaborated again with Black Dragon Press and Sterling Hundley on another incredible movie poster. Having previously printed the Babette's Feast edition, we knew pairing Hundley and the film Meshes of the Afternoon would result in a visual feast of texture and narrative composition.

Separating Hunley's artwork for screenprint was both a pleasure and a challenge. We used a series of greys and translucencies to faithfully render all of the artist's gorgeous textures and tones, and completely masked the silver foil base with an opaque cream, leaving only one small area exposed to represent the mirrored face of the film's shrouded figure.

This new edition, silkscreen printed in 7 colours onto 300gsm Mirri Silver Foil paper, is hand-numbered, gallery stamped on the reverse, and now available from Black Dragon Press.