perspectives columnist The Social
Other news from your local art groups and societies
CHELSEA More than 500 artworks will go on show at Chelsea Old Town Hall for the Chelsea Art Society’s 65th Annual Open Art Exhibition (21–25 June).
DEVON Students of the East Devon Art Academy will be displaying their work at the Old Fore Street venue in Sidmouth from 16–21 June.
DORCHESTER Dorchester Art Club’s Spring Exhibition runs from 26 May to 10 June at the Borough Gardens’ Bowling Club Pavilion.
HERTFORD The Hertford Art Society’s 60th Annual Open Exhibition takes place at Cowbridge Halls from 6–19 May.
WORCESTERSHIRE The county’s second arts trail takes place over the Jubilee weekend (1-4 June) with 74 artists and makers opening their studios. Find out more at www.worcs
artstrail.org
With our new columnist Dr Bren Unwin, President of the Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers G
The Royal Society of Painter-Printmaker’s Annual Exhibition runs from 11 May to 10 June at Bankside Gallery, London SE1
BELOW Fateful Night: 16, 1st state, etched brass, etched copper, relief, 69x69cm
LAYERS OF MEANING
etting artwork into an exhibition-ready state always seems to take longer than originally anticipated. I have been particularly aware of this over the previous few months whilst getting work ready for an exhibition called Layer at Cornwall Contemporary Gallery in Penzance. As per the title, the
work includes a selection of prints and paintings that are comprised of many layers of practice and meaning. These pieces were made in response to the tragic Penlee lifeboat disaster that led to the loss of 16 lives in Cornwall in 1981. The work first began in 2003 when I read a full account of the disaster while on
coastwatch duty – a solo occupation in a remote hut on the Cape Cornwall headland. While no longer an active member of the coastwatch team, my past experiences at Cape Cornwall continue to inform my work. Marks made out of experience in place are carried back to the studio via drawings, photos, notes and memories of that particular place. The creation of multi-layered prints
often includes a variety of printmaking media. Different types of media require careful timing between the separate layers in order for inks to dry before applying further materials, such as thin papers or further printed plates. In the series of Penlee images, the etched and layered copper and brass plates have been worked over several months, and I need to keep this in mind when working towards deadlines for exhibitions. Chine collé, a term used in printmaking that means ‘Chinese collage’, involves adding extra pieces of paper to the plates while the print is being pulled. Later on in the process, the collaged parts require well-dried work in order to stick
together properly. It’s really quite disheartening to return to the studio a day after gluing bits and pieces together only to find papers peeling away and layers falling apart. A bit more time given to drying the work goes a long way to preventing such disasters. Bringing together layers of work over time
creates what might be described as a ‘palimpsest’. This is a term often used metaphorically by geographers to describe what happens in a landscape over a period of time in which current use overwrites, but doesn’t completely eradicate, former use. Taking ideas from one discipline and applying them to another – in this case taking an idea from geography and applying it to art practice – is an interesting way of working for many artists. Chatting to local artist Neil Pinkett in
Cornwall Contemporary Gallery this week, I was interested to hear his idea that my prints would lend themselves to being transformed into wire sculptures. As so often happens, it is the character of the work itself that is instrumental in determining the appropriate medium.
FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF PAINTER-PRINTMAKERS AT
WWW.RE-PRINTMAKERS.COM Artists & Illustrators 11
“Taking ideas from one discipline and applying them to another is an
interesting way of working”
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