Exhibition: Later Day Saints at WYPW

I recently visited and Exhibition at West Yorkshire Print Workshop by Alan Birch called 'Later day Saints'. Click here to view some of the saints he has created on his own website. 

He was inspired by wood carvings of saints at the Wellcome Collection at the Science Museum in London. 

He has used references from books and religious paintings and sculptures to create a collection of contemporary saints. These saints make reference to modern day objects or activities to which people are devoted or which are worshipped by everyday people. Superstition is still alive and well today and people probably would pray to Saint Lotto if they though this would help them to come into money. 

The artist has created over 90 monoprints from which he selected 52 to become etchings and hand coloured drypoints. 

The overall concept is interesting although I must admit I have seen something similar before in which modern day celebrities such as Simon Cowell became saints in the paintings of a fellow OCA student Adrian Eaton. 

However, the prints themselves didn't really excite me - there were so many of them all of the same size and apparently rapidly executed. They all seemed to merge into one to me - maybe that's partly the point - a comment on the crass mass production of today's society and the fact that we worship false idols sold to us via the mass media. 

Birch has certainly been astute in identifying symbols of modern culture. Many of his saints evoked a wry smile of recognition from me for example Saint Saleus if Primark, Saint Selfie-Stick and Saint Duvet. The one I identified with the most was Saint Remain - the modern day British Saint Sebastian who is pierced by the nationalistic Union Jack arrows of the Brexiteers. Oh dear :-(

Leeds Print Fair

On 6th November I visited Leeds Print Fair. There were numerous printmakers exhibiting and selling their prints. I looked at all of the stalls but spent relatively less time looking at the work of the screen printers and the letterpress stalls. I concentrated on printmaking techniques that are directly relevant to my course and other techniques which attract me such as etchings. Some of the artists were quite open and friendly others were more reserved . I enjoyed chatting to some of the artists and picking up tips.

There were some good examples of collagraph work by Jane Duke and Suzie MacKenzie. With Jane Duke's work the star-out feature was the fact that the plates seem to have been trimmed to a shape in keeping with the subject rather than using rectangular plates. 

Suzie Mackenzie's work construed of landscape with animals present. The textures she puts into the work are great as well as the colour combinations. However both of these artists were quite reserved and didn't really want to chat. I had a good chat with another artist (Robert Battams - I think although I didn't note down his name) He was working one. some very industrial looking collagraphs - it was a work in progress and he shared with me a bi about the process and showed me a couple of his collagraph plates which are things of beauty in their own right. I am filed with enthusiasm now to get on to the collagraph section of my course - although I am sure it isn't as easy as it looks. 

Cards Illustrating Collagraphs by S Mackenzie

I also introduced myself to Janis Goodman because I had stayed with a mutual friend of ours the night before and she encouraged me to do so. Janis started off as a printmaker by attending evening classes and fell in love with the technique of etching. I love the stark blackness of etchings . Her subject matter us often birds in the landscape - I particularly liked the design and composition of her prints depicting murmurations. 

Cards of etchings by Janis Goodman and
Lino cuts by Helen Roddie

There were also several artists working with lino cut at the fair, including Helen Roddie who produces complex linocuts with a botanical theme and Rachel Knowles whose lino prints also originate from a botanical theme. I was able to pick up some tips on how to get multiple layer lino prints to dry quicker between layers as after several layers they do seem to stay tacky for a very long time. 

Cath Brooke was the artist whose work I found most intriguing and she was very generous with her time in explaining her process. She is currently working mainly with industrial landscapes and her prints use a combination of drypoint, chine collé and monoprint. She is presenting a 'printmaker's toolkit' session at West Yorkshire Print Workshop in the near future which is a demonstration of her techniques so I have booked to attend that to get more of an insight into her process. 

Gallery Visit: Jerwood Drawing Prize

On Sunday. I visited the Jerwood Drawing prize exhibition at the Jerwood Space in London.

I thoroughly enjoyed this exhibition and have picked out a few of the drawings to comment on. 

The winner of this years Jerwood Drawing prize was Solveig Settemsdal with a piece called 'Singularity' Click Here to Link to an excerpt from the video on the artist's website

The work is a video installation of white ink in gelatin of 9 minutes 27 seconds in duration. It is mesmeric. I usually find I want to walk away from video installations quite rapidly but this one drew me in and I lingered to watch it. The artist puts white ink into the gelatin and manipulates it on the opposite surface to the camera - so the action of the artist is only seen as movement of the ink. 

The suspension of the ink in the gelatin made it seem almost trapped. Vigorous movements were made and thus white lines were created in the three dimensional matrix making a constantly evolving form. The movements make the amorphous blob of ink look like something organic - a creature trying to escape from being trapped in the sticky gelatin. It also brought back to me memories of a film I recently saw called 'Under the Skin'. In the film an alien disguised as a beautiful young woman (Scarlet Johannsen) hunts her prey in Scotland. The prey are men who are lured in and end up suspended alive in a sticky gel while they are slowly digested. Quite a disturbing memory for this piece of work to evoke! However, despite these rather creepy associations in my mind, I found the three dimensional patterns of the white ink suspended in the gel very aesthetically pleasing and somewhat reminiscent of glass paperweights. 

At the end of the video sequence, the white ink appears to be sucked out of the gelatin into a black hole which fits along with the astronomical reference of the singularity.

This is what the catalogue says about the piece:

' A point appears in a perceived void. Slowly expanding, it's articulation grow increasingly deliberate; lines are created, crossed and bisected. The form is never still, never sets. Singularity explores a temporal and sculptural process of drawing in a fluid three dimensional space through the suspension of ink in cubes of gelatin. In constant transformation, the white mineral ink and the biological gelatin lattice initiate a balance between conscious intention and unconscious material process.'

I think that 'Singularity' is a truly deserving winner of the Jerwood Drawing Prize.

Two other works that evoked an emotional response in that they both made me do a 'double take' were 'Unsolemn Rituals' Amelie Barnathan and David Gardner's untitled piece. 

'Unsolemn rituals' was a winner of the student awards this year. It is a large scale drawing measuring 60-475cm executed in watercolour, coloured pen and acrylic ink. At first glance with its colour scheme of reds, baby pinks and lilacs and its illustrative style it looks like something that might be suitable for a children's book - however the subject matter is more disturbing. The interplay of the sugary pink colour and drawing style with the subject matter gave me jolt. 

Click here to link to an image of a section of the drawing

The drawing depicts young girls or women in various activities. They are pierced by arrows, they cut each other, serpents emerge from their vaginas, There is a pile of apparently dead young females emerging from the hollow of a tree. There is bondage and violence and a pool of red liquid (menstrual blood?). All of the people in the drawing are female. Some of the images are bizarre and nightmarish. I thought this drawing was about female sexuality and the nightmares of adolescence and coming of age. It was quite uncomfortable to look at. In fact the piece is about mass psychogenic illness. Here is what the artist says about it:

'My project is a study of mass psychogenic illness (MPI), a modern phenomenon of hysteria characterised by more than one person spontaneously developing hysterical physical and emotional symptoms. Cases of MPI are predominantly found in groups of pre teens and predominantly occur in segregated and secluded spaces like boarding schools. 

Symptoms include twitching, fainting, and other neurological symptoms. the schoolgirls present in my drawings evoke the ecstatic rituals of the Maenads madwoman of Ancient Greece, to the processions and Sabbaths of the witches. My work investigates the nuances of the female collective and the pressures of conforming in social environments. It explores female identity and sexuality, its common psyche set in adolescence with the different types of illnesses and disorders that can occur at that age.'

David Gardner's untitled work gave me similar jolt but for different reasons although I found the work ultimately somewhat less interesting that that of Amelie Barnathan's work (perhaps because I am female).This is a relatively large drawing 120 by 126.5cm in coloured pencil on paper.  As I walk around galleries I often get very close to to the drawings to try to see how they are made before I step back to get an overview. In this case I was looking very closely at the coloured pencil shapes which appeared to be very finely burnished. It wasn't until I stepped back that I realised that the shapes I'd been examining closely were phallic symbols some of which were shown ejaculating. I had an automatic reaction of distaste which may have been what the artist was aiming for. There were also various other graphic style drawings on the paper including a smiley face so looking very much like graffiti  or doodles on a school exercise book.

This is what the artist says about it: 

'I'm interested in how an idea behind a symbol can change completely over time. The Ancient Greeks and the Romans celebrated the image of the phallus, believing that it kept away the evil eye. It was adorned all over their cities. Today the image is loaded very differently, mostly avoided and hidden behind prudish embarrassment. However, we are all enticed by this image - even as school kids, we scribbled it on walls and textbooks.Through a simple line, we have communicated ideas about the phallus over 2000 (plus) years - my work seeks a dialogue between the ages.'

Despite this worthy aim, I can't help feeling repelled by the image (I am a clearly a product of my time and Victorian prudishness is an involuntary reaction!). However I also get the feeling that this isn't in fact really pushing any boundaries as the phallus is a recurring theme over the centuries. 

I am interested in different techniques of mark making so I spent quite some time looking at  Helen Thomas's Eight Day Draw No. 1 with my nose very close to the paper, trying to work out how it was made.  This is a very large scale drawing 150 x 238cm in graphite on paper. The drawing is dynamic with vigorous mark making. I looks as though a variety of graphite materials have been used including graphite sticks, graphite powder and water soluble graphite. There is also evidence of erasure and restatement. I love the energy of the mark making in this drawing.. The drawing seems to be based on natural forms and plant life I then read the entry in the catalogue by the artist:

'Eight day draw No.1 is one of two large scale drawings that are the result of a self initiated, time based drawing project that took place over eight days in March 2016. The materials are graphite powder, 0.5mm propelling pencil, various pencils, graphite sticks and erasers on paper. The exploratory and cumulative drawing process involved a series of exercises including: Marks informed by sketches made on the walk to the studio, drawing left handed, increasing and decreasing scale, lines spanning the paper etc.'

While we are on the subject of mark making I would also like to mention Richard McVetis' drawings. There are at the opposite end of the scale from Helen Thomas's work. I am attracted to Helen's work because of the energy of the mark making and I am attracted to McVetis' drawings for the opposite reason. They are small and quiet pieces and I can imaging myself going through the process of making something like these as a meditative process. I find repetitive mark making a soothing activity. The drawings consist of a square and a rectangle created in ink on squared paper. They are created from tiny marks made very close together to give an irregular density and a feeling of texture. McVetis says:

'My work reflects a preoccupation with the repetitive nature of process, exploring the subtle differences that emerge through ritualistic and habitual mark making. In addition, the mapping of space and marking time and form are central themes. Ideas are often developed in response to, or created specifically to a moment. The drawings created explore how objects, materials and places, through the action of hands, bare (sic) witness to the passing of time.'

Click Here to view one of McVetsis' drawings

Jade Chorkulab's video combined the audio of people being interviewed about what they would do if they only had an hour to live with real time rapid line drawings representing their answers alongside. This was a simple idea but quite compelling. Click here to view a still from the video . The artist herself is Thai and the work is a reflection of Buddhist philosophy that by preparing for death by meditation to reduce earthly attachments we can approach death with equanimity - without anxiety or an unquiet mind. 

Rachel Bacon's 'Emotional Landscape' looks like a beaten and manipulated piece of metal from a distance because of hits shiny surface scored with black lines. In fact this work is composed of a crumpled and scored piece of paper which has been intensively covered with graphite. The thickly covered paper thus takes on a metallic sheen. By working in such a fastidious and prolonged manner on crumpled paper - something that would normally discarded, she transforms it into something that resembles a more valuable commodity (metal) and it becomes a piece of work worthy of display in a gallery. Her work therefore plays with the idea of what is valuable and what is not. 

Gallery Visit: National Original Print Exhibition at Bankside Gallery

Click Here to link to the Bankside Gallery Website

On the 24th September I was in transit through London on my way back to Italy. I took a couple of hours for myself and visited the National Original Print Exhibition at Bankside Gallery. The gallery is on the the South Bank of the Thames right next to Tate Modern and the exhibition was free of charge. Below is the statement from the gallery website about the exhibition which is an annual event and about the organisation which holds it - The Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers.

"The National Original Print Exhibition, established by the Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers (RE), is an international open submission exhibition celebrating the best of contemporary printmaking. As an art organisation run by artists, the RE is constantly working to create long-term opportunities for artists and promote printmaking to a wider audience."

I did a first look around the room and then went around with my notebook and concentrated on certain works which attracted me as well as looking specifically for examples of monoprint.

The catalogue can be viewed online by clicking Here. However, in many cases the photographs in the catalogue do not do justice to the real prints as they are small in scale and also sometimes miss some of the subtleties of colour and layering of ink.

I had an emotional response to 'Not Even The Crumbs From My Table' a drypoint by Derek Mawudoku. (page 10/11 in the online catalogue - second image from the the bottom). This is a haunting image. Figures with sunken eyes (skeletal -looking) are behind a larger figure sitting at a table with a plate and a wine glass. The seated figure is large and spreads himself wide to block the clawing hand of the figure behind him who is desperately trying to get at the glass or plate on the table. The larger seated figure looks defiantly and directly out at the viewer making us complicit in the action. The blackness of the image suits the darkness of the subject and the scratchiness of the line work suits the clawing action of the hand of the starving man. This can be interpreted as a metaphor for the larger phenomenon of first world greed and third world poverty.

I especially liked the light effects in Grainne Dowling's etching and aquatint '7am Dublin'. (page 26 in the online catalogue) The combination of the silhouetted figures and shadows of the bridge with the very bright light reflecting off the pavement brilliantly capture the atmosphere of a chilly but bright morning light.

'Passing By' a wood engraving by Peter S Smith (page 9 of the online catalogue - bottom right) interested me. Although small in scale, it effectively conveyed the image of a human shadow passing the kerb and pavement by using abstract shapes each made up of tiny marks. The variety of marks employed in such small piece was impressive. Wood engraving allows for precision. There was stippling, hatching, meshing, parallel wavy lines.

Laura Rosser's woodcut 'GD*1Kanazawa' (Page 16-17) is a much larger scale work and is constructed almost entirely from vertical lines of varying thickness, spacing and overlap. It is a night scene - mainly black but with vertical lines of the architecture catching the light in places. The interior of the house is illuminated and the light escapes through vertical slatted blinds at the windows. The architectural features and the title suggest that this scene may be set in Japan. There are four figures in the interior. Three are grouped around a table - I cant quite make out whether they are having a meal served to them or whether they are playing a game. The fourth figure is further back and off to the right and has their head turned towards us - do they see us looking in or are they looking back towards the other group? There is also the impression of a fifth figure further back in the background which can almost but not quite be made out. The skill and planning which must have gone in to planning and executing this image are terrifying! However whet is also skillful is the manipulation of the viewer - looking at the scene I feel voyeuristic - like a stalker peeping in to someone's private world- or someone who has been excluded and looks longingly in through the window. The feel of this reminds me of Edward Hopper's Nighthawks or the feeling I got looking at some of Patrick Caulfield's illuminated interiors (from the outside).
In a small white rectangle to the right of the series of windows there is a series of marks - this may be a Japanese word - however to me it looks rather like the face of a cartoon teddy bear. This somewhat breaks the tension of the piece and once you notice it you can't un-notice it! I wonder whether this was intentional?

Another print which I was drawn to was 'Life Lines' by Ross Loveday (page 19 of the online catalogue). This was a monochrome abstract print of medium size (24x24cm) using a combination of drypoint and carborundum. I love the deep velvety blackness of the print and the fine wispy scratchiness of the lines. It almost looks like cranes at the mouth of a port. I am inspired to try out some drypoint and also playing about with some carborundum as I like the darkness and quality of line and texture in this print.

Impressive for its sheer size was the linocut 'Wild Awake' by Ade Adesina This can be viewed here on the artist's website and on page 8 of the online catalogue. This print measures 110 x 160 cm. It depicts what looks like a post-apocalyptic landscape with a parched, dried out earth some formations within which resemble the stones of the giant's causeway. There are Baobab trees dotted about and there appear to be whales flying in the sky - perhaps they have taken to the sky because of the lack of water in the seas? This could be a moment about environmental issues and man's destruction of the landscape. The scale of this piece made me think about the practicalities of printing something like this. It would have required great patience first of all to carve the lino by hand. Inking up such a large surface evenly would also be a challenge. You would need a very large printing press to print a piece this size - did he use a steamroller?

So far all of the prints I have commented on have been monochrome - I seem to be drawn to the dark velvety blackness of the printing ink. Now to move on to something a bit more colourful and search out the monoprints in the exhibition:

'Sea Forts' by Theresa Gadsby- Mourner uses a combination of monoprint and etching - the photograph in the catalogue does not do justice to the subtlety of this print. It looks as though the monprint has been built up in several layers in subtle gradations of grey and yellows and I think it has been printed on handmade Japanese paper. The etching component is brought in for the architectural features of these strange forts on legs out in the sea - I have since discovered that these were structures used during WWII and were then largely abandoned - they look a bit like the aliens from the war of the world about to stride onto the shore and claim it for themselves. Despite being a small and unassuming print I spent quite a while looking at this one - I love its subtle colours and textures.

The largest monoprint in the show and occupying a commanding position at the end of the room was 'Orange September'  an abstract monoprint by Morgan Doyle. Its colour scheme had a lot of impact with orange , red, grey and black its main colours. As a whole I am sorry to say that I found it a bit overwhelming and it wasn't to my taste - However, I did spend quite along time up close to it trying to decipher the many different ways of mark making that the artist had employed. There were areas that looked like decalcomania where something flat was applied t thick ink and pulled away leaving a characteristic texture. Marks were made by scratching and scraping into the ink and by wiping ink away. There were spatters of ink and possibly some backdrawing on top. Lots of things to try here.