To the Edges is open for visitors again, but if you just can’t make it, here is a video walk through of the show hosted by the curator, Katherine Roberts. The exhibition closes on the 7th of November.
Thanks to Nathan Lewis and Matt Creswell for making the video.
How does your work address the theme ‘to the edges’?
The work is representational but is made reductively, focusing on the shapes, spaces and atmosphere connecting the subjects. The edges are only created through a removal of what’s between. Broadly, the print explores how we interconnect with our surroundings and the veil that exists between what we perceive as ‘natural’ and ‘unnatural’. At a time where the world is on the edge of a precipice, an awareness of this divide, leading to a more holistic vision of ‘nature’ is perhaps our only salvation.
Can you describe the technical process you went through to achieve the finished work and what technical challenges you encountered along the way?
Recently I’ve made a few works burnishing aquatints and working reductively. I heavily darken the entirety of my plates with an aquatint then work back into them with scrapers and burnishers smoothing the surface texture of the plate like a traditional mezzotint. Previously I’ve taken care with the technique and aimed to achieve a softness a finesse but for this image I worked quickly using only large scraping tools hoping to achieve a sense of physicality and movement in the final marks and a sense of tactility in the removed areas of the plate.
What do you see as the role of Sydney Printmakers for the next 60 years?
Sydney printmakers has an important role bringing together printmakers and continuing to provide opportunity for connection and discussion amongst members and the printmaking community. The organisation provides a distinguished platform for printmakers to present themselves as a united front and grants access to unique and exciting exhibiting possibilities. The role of the Sydney Printmakers in disseminating printmaking into the public sphere continues to be of vital importance.
How do you see the role of printmaking, in general, contributing to the conversation about contemporary art practice?
Printmaking is an art practice inherently linked to technologies. From the most primitive forms of mark making to the utilisation of cutting edge technology, under its skin printmaking is a rolling commentary on the progression of how we communicate and how we make marks on each other. The role of printmaking in contemporary art practice is strong and I believe it really can only get stronger as it’s horizons widen and it’s playing field naturally becomes larger.
Continuing with our series of interviews with artists exhibiting in Sydney Printmakers ‘To the Edges’ at Manly Art Gallery and Museum, we now talk to Rafael Butron.
How does your work address the theme ‘To the Edges’?
Recent unparalleled events Have caused many to live on the edge. The pandemic virus, caused by transmission from one person to another forced many of us into isolation quite rapidly, and for most people came fear and loneliness. Humans caused these events to unfold. The world’s temperature rises and our environment has been thrown. ‘Phases of Isolation‘ is a self portrait that explores three stages of separation, frustration, anxiety and depression. As we value our lives so should we also value the world we live in, by having compassion for one another and a duty of care for our world.
Can you describe the technical process you went through to achieve the finished work and what technical challenges you encountered along the way?
I usually engrave from a drawing on the plate itself using copperplate with a marker pen, then slowly engrave using an engraving tool called a Burin. The technical challenge is to remove all your training, which tends to make the print perfectly executed and use the innate artistic energy to achieve an image, much like action painting. My intention is to incorporate traditional printmaking techniques to create a unique work that has its own spirit.
What do you see as the role of Sydney Printmakers for the next 60 years?
Sydney Printmakers have and always will push printmaking to its limits and with every new member there is an opportunity to develop new engaging works that add to the diversity of the group and ensure its longevity for years to come.
How do you see the role of printmaking, in general, contributing to the conversation about contemporary art practice?
Printmaking has a role to play in contemporary art making as every printmaker has a unique approach to the creation of an image and the variety of mediums allows for an individual interpretation of the subject.
How does your work address the theme ‘to the edges’?
Consisting of six connecting panels, each one complete also in its own right, this work is thematically concerned with edges. Titled Rainforest Meets the Sea connects my current environment: a narrow coastal strip at the edge of the Royal National Park, nestled under the Illawarra Escarpment to the South Coast of NSW. My home and studio adjoin remains of subtropical rainforest with a short walk to the ocean. Here the edges of the land meet the sea, feeding into the concept of To the Edges.
Always living next to large bodies of water and in bushland, I inhabit and respond to natural elemental environments. The ambience of the natural elements reaffirms my research into the philosophy of the Five Elements as interpreted in Tibetan Buddhism and takes my work to the edges of Eastern philosophy and Western art. This was further explored in my Master of Philosophy degree completed at ANU in 2020.
Can you describe the technical process you went through to achieve the finished work and what technical challenges you encountered along the way?
For this project I pushed my printmaking to the edges of becoming a painting by including a few of the mediums that I employ when painting: watercolour, collage and encaustic wax. Starting with washes of watercolour, I then printed collograph shapes reminiscent of sea weeds or tree trunks, next I tore my etchings into evocative shapes suggestive of deep-sea creatures or rainforest forms and collaged them into the work. This was followed by painting a series of white spheres and ovals to add connecting sparks of light in each panel.
I love using encaustic wax when painting, however a challenge in applying it to paper is that it becomes partly absorbed while using a heat gun to spread the wax and thus changes the tone of the paper. Firstly, I stabilized the paper by gluing it to well-sealed boards and defined the shapes that I wanted to remain white by applying white paint to those areas. eg: the white spheres. This incurs another small challenge: painting white on white paper, makes it hard to evaluate the spatial depth of the work … until the wax is burned in. The whole process is labour intensive and the encaustic wax is toxic, so it involves wearing a protective mask. However, the resulting smooth protective coating produces a beautiful luminous quality to the work.
What do you see as the role of Sydney Printmakers for the next 60 years?
I see the Sydney Printmakers continuing as a platform for members to exhibit and embracing new members and methods of print and supporting change.
How do you see the role of printmaking, in general, contributing to the conversation about contemporary art practice?
Printmaking will always be a part of contemporary art practice as an embedded tradition constantly changing to accommodate new approaches and media.
How does your work address the theme “To the Edges“?
2020-21 has been a time full of challenges and during periods of isolation there is time to reflect and consider what is of importance. The varying dynamics of dealing with a new “ Covid 19 “ society has inspired this image. Shifting values, tough decisions and being on edge of so many changes. To be so mindful of what was once just everyday living.
Which way to turn, when to touch, not being allowed to touch & show affection all create a vision of shifting planes and turning points.
Aristotle created a triangle of rhetoric, a way to discuss Ethos – ethical issues, Pathos – compassion and emotion, and Logos, the value of logic. My work “Defining the Edge” also reflects on the dynamics of Aristotle’s triangle.
Can you describe the technical progress you went through to achieve the finished work and what technical challenges you encountered along the way?
My work is a diptych multi block woodblock print created using the traditional techniques of ancient Japanese printing traditions. Registration is of prime importance as there are over 30 blocks carved to create the illusion of transparent overlaps. There are no overlaps in this work as colours are mixed to create the illusion of transparency.
Working an image across 2 individual prints always creates challenges in paper stretch from so much baren work. All the blocks are hand carved in Russian Birch and hand printed on quality Japanese Kozo.
What do you see as the role of Sydney Printmakers for the next 60 years?
I would hope Sydney Printmakers remains a committed group of artists celebrating the dynamics of both traditional print media and new technologies who create a platform for sharing their individual creative talents and also to be challenged as a group to remain effective in the coming years.
How do you see the role of printmaking, in general, contributing to the conversation about contemporary art practice?
I have no doubt that printmaking will continue to be the medium of choice for many contemporary artists. With the success of many international conferences focused on printmaking it is no doubt a popular medium universally.
The greater challenge is to preserve the teaching of traditional practise in our art institutions and for those with the knowledge to be willing to share. We collectively have to continue to preserve what we now have for future generations in our shared knowledge of the print medium.
How does your work address the theme ‘to the edges’?
At first glance my large triptych Ubud Bali and the smaller series of works Snapshots seem to be about the beauty of a place I love dearly. Bali often referred to as the island of the gods is considered a paradise by many, but beyond the lush tropical landscapes and incredible natural beauty of Bali is a troubling reality. Tourism over the past decades has grown so rapidly that many overwhelming problems prevail. Pollution chokes the ocean with rubbish and raw sewage washing up on the beaches. Bad traffic jams are an everyday problem where there are simply to many cars on the existing roadways often resulting in gridlock and sometimes fatal accidents. Many of the tourists are oblivious to the island’s rich culture and history and think of Bali purely as a party destination. High rise buildings and urban sprawl dominate areas that were once humble fishing villages stretching the limits of existing infrastructure. As the world struggles with the Covid 19 pandemic and travel is limited tourists have abandoned Bali almost completely leaving the local community without a way to make a living resulting in great hardship experienced by all. Also Indonesia and Bali are suffering some of the highest Covid 19 infections rates worldwide with inadequate hospitals to treat the sick. As beautiful as Bali still is it is definitely a place pushed to the edges.
Can you describe the technical process you went through to achieve the finished work and what technical challenges you encountered along the way?
The large triptych is done utilising my photographs on photopolymer plates (solarplates) and inking those plates up meticulously with different colours employing the à la poupée technique. I use small paintbrushes to apply the inks and very carefully wipe back the plates to achieve the required effect. Then I hand colour the prints using watercolour pencils and paints.
The smaller works are a series of images attempting to tell a story of what Bali means to me. You will see rice paddy fields, palm trees, a temple, daily offerings left out on the street, a Barong statue, a Ganesh the elephant god statue, a Bali dog lying in the sun, a warung, fishing boats, motorbikes and some local children. I have again used photopolymer plates to create the prints, but also I started experimenting with cyanotypes which is an alternative photographic process first discovered in the early 1800s. I added a little bit of hand colouring in some of the smaller works, but generally these are less laboured compared to my usual prints.
What do you see as the role of Sydney Printmakers for the next 60 years?
It is an incredible feat for Sydney Printmakers to have been active for 60 years. We are a diverse group of artists constantly busy organising exhibitions with an aim to promote printmaking nationally and internationally. We have achieved a great deal in that time and I hope Sydney Printmakers continues to be strong into the future involving a younger generation to carry on for another 60 years and more.
How do you see the role of printmaking, in general, contributing to the conversation about contemporary art practice?
Sydney Printmakers formed in 1961 to address the concerns of artists that printmaking at the time was being neglected and overlooked. The group’s aim was to strongly promote printmaking in general as did the Print Council of Australia that was established in Melbourne around the same time. Today printmaking is strong and continues to play a vital role in the art and culture of our age.
How does your work address the theme ‘to the edges’?
The work is experimental. I had been spending some time with Ruth Burgess, and was impressed and intrigued by her use of colour. I wanted to explore how, by printing just the primaries over one another, I could create a range of secondary and tertiary colours. My process would be revealed at the edges of each of the panels which comprised the work. The decision to print by hand rather than the press literally expresses the theme, since the printer must move the baren right to the edges of the paper to make each print.
Can you describe the technical process you went through to achieve the finished work and what technical challenges you encountered along the way?
I decided to avoid imagery as much as possible, so as to concentrate on the most important factors: colour and luminosity. To achieve luminosity within each print, I glued fabric over plywood and chose to print the plates in relief. This meant that the white of the paper showed through the weave of the fabric to enliven the colour on each print. The decision to print the work by hand was made to allow for incidental marks and imperfections to contribute to the work.
It was only part way through the printing process that I discovered that the way the plywood base of the plates was constructed had produced two bands on each print as a variation in the surface. The hand printing was challenging physically and technically since I am a quite recent convert to printing with a baren,but I realised the flaws in the printing gave the work a liveliness that wouldn’t be present had I opted for another process.
To begin with, I envisioned that the work would have 15 elements, but realised as I progressed through the making of the piece that I could have expanded it much further, although the size of the finished piece would have been even more unwieldy.
I had to confine it within arbitrary parameters, so I created a formula to work to. The constraints I set myself were
to use two plates only
to use yellow red and blue ink only, ie no colour mixing
to use four layers of ink on each print
to print by hand with a baren
Working at that scale was a challenge. The first time I was able to see the work as a whole was after it was installed on the gallery wall and appropriately lit. It is too large to fit on my studio wall.
What do you see as the role of Sydney Printmakers for the next 60 years?
I expect Sydney Printmakers to continue to attract members dedicated to excellence in the medium of print. ‘To the Edges’ demonstrates that the organisation welcomes experimentation, exploration and creativity within the medium of printmaking, and I think that is its strength.
How do you see the role of printmaking, in general, contributing to the conversation about contemporary art practice?
Printmakers have always been interested in new technologies, in new ways of responding to the world. I feel that printmaking will always have a place in contemporary art practice because it continues to evolve. Witness some of the prints in ‘To the Edges’ which explore the edges of contemporary practice.
Artists in Conversation with the Exhibition Curator, Katherine Roberts, Manly Art Gallery and Museum: Tina Barahanos
Tina Barahanos. Transfixed, M2 Freeway on the Way Home 2021
Transparency in Lightbox, edition of 2 and 1 x AP, 80 x 60cm
How does your work address the theme ‘to the edges’?
‘Transfixed, M2 Freeway On The Way Home’ is part of a series of lightbox works that take their reference from the edge of the roadside, a view that is generally observed through peripheral vision. This is where I wanted to focus my attention, find inspiration and distraction from my day. A place where imagination takes over and patterns are created as the roads edge moves along with me. I am entertained by the abstracted creations where the blur of movement fuses the real and phantasmagorical. It became my muse.
Can you describe the technical process you went through to achieve the finished work and what technical challenges you encountered along the way?
This image was taken from my car window, while travelling along the M2. (I was the passenger of course). Using digital editing I strive to create work that looks for similarities between digital print and etching, between realism and abstraction. The work is then sent to the fabricator where the lightbox is made.
One of the technical challenges I faced was with the level of lighting. It was originally far too bright and was washing out the image. I incorporated a dimmer for a period of time to help work out what brightness was required. The lightbox was then adjusted to half the light strength. And the final light box manufactured.
What do you see as the role of Sydney Printmakers for the next 60 years?
To continue to inspire and nurture newer generations of printmakers.
How do you see the role of printmaking, in general, contributing to the conversation about contemporary art practice?
I think printmaking will continue connect and engage through cultural commentary and personal expression.
ARTISTS IN CONVERSATION WITH THE EXHIBITION CURATOR, KATHERINE ROBERTS, MANLY ART GALLERY AND MUSEUM: ANGELA HAYSON.
Angela Hayson The Shelter of Ourselves
Relief, Monoprint, drawing, carborundum on Japanese paper
How does your work address the theme ‘to the edges’?
Conceptually I was thinking about how individuals preserve their core identity and at the same time make subtle shifts in how they present when in a group. How far to the edges of our authentic self are we willing to be seen and be known? The work is about dual identities, accepting our idiosyncrasies in order to remain authentic to self, and also constructing a public persona according to social norms and expectations when connecting and relating to others. The multiple identities are implied by the inversion and juxtaposition of figurative forms within the image.
On a physical level, multiple sheets of Japanese kozo paper are layered with mixed media and printed elements, with the image intentionally extending to the outer edges of the paper. The work has been developed from matrixes of wood, cardboard and rigid plastic sheet combining relief, drawing, monoprint and carborundum.
Can you describe the technical process you went through to achieve the finished work and what technical challenges you encountered along the way?
The Shelter of Ourselves is a multiple panel work developed from the 3-D forms of two small bronze figurative sculptures I had recently made. I was interested in the push and pull of the negative and positive shapes within the forms, which became key elements in the printed image.
Having the opportunity to work large, I sketched up a composition at small scale to reflect what might convey the subject of shifting identities and then gridded up to the intended full-size dimensions. The vast up-scaling required numerous stages of drawing and redrawing with continual modifications and additions to the image, working out the relationship of shapes and spaces, along with the aligning of the image at the edges of the matrix as it transitioned from one panel to the next.
Preparing eight large cardboard panels to receive the carborundum for the final printed element in the work required the transfer of the drawing to the boards. Gel medium was applied to the drawing and carborundum was dropped into the medium. Several coats of shellac were applied to protect areas not to be printed, allowing discretionary wiping back of the ink.
The non-uniform backgrounds encompassed relief printing from woodblocks, drawing with wax pencils and graphite, scrunching up the sheets of paper into balls and re-stretching out to flatten again, and then monoprinting again on top from rigid plastic sheet in readiness to take the carborundum print element. I used a printing press to release each of the inked layers onto the paper.
The backgrounds were experimental and enjoyable. The greatest technical challenge, which I had not anticipated, was the inking and wiping back of the large carborundum imagery. It was slow, arduous and physically exhausting due to the many narrow and inaccessible areas requiring wiping out. I consider the project a success in that it has been a departure from my previous work and capable of having a strong and sustaining influence on future work.
What do you see as the role of Sydney Printmakers for the next 60 years?
Having built up an impressive reputation for high quality artistic output and professionalism over six decades, the group is well positioned to further evolve with a focus on striving for increased recognition of print media in relation to other art forms. I believe this is an exciting time for the group to encourage new printmaking enthusiasts into the membership, encourage experimentation to extend the possibilities of print media and foster a culture of excellence.
How do you see the role of printmaking, in general, contributing to the conversation about contemporary art practice?
Many printmakers, along with artists of other disciplines, make work that is a reflection of their own world, as well as the changing world including environmental, social, political and cultural issues of the time. The diversity of methods and techniques available within print media provides extensive opportunities for raising awareness of contemporary issues, presented in unique and distinct ways.
Since it appears that To the Edges will not reopen to the public, we will post these ‘conversations,’ together with the image under discussion, in a series. The curator, Katherine Roberts, has sent questions for each of the artists to answer.
How does your work address the theme ‘to the edges’?
My work emerged from a period of introspection at the beginning of the covid pandemic. Being isolated from family interstate was a catalyst for fluctuating moods. The boundaries between consciousness and dreams became blurred. It was analogous with the concept of ‘intimate immensity’ as alluded to by Gaston Bachelard. The figures are representative of the self – waiting and moving from the real to the dreamlike edges.
Can you describe the technical process you went through to achieve the finished work and what technical challenges you encountered along the way?
I made large plates using dry point and carborundum. The actual making of the plates which are each 120cm x 60cm was therapeutic.
I decided on chine colle for the wings to slightly shift the tonal quality of the image.
What do you see as the role of Sydney Printmakers for the next 60 years?
I hope Sydney Printmakers encourages new and younger members who bring enthusiasm and energy to the group.
How do you see the role of printmaking, in general, contributing to the conversation about contemporary art practice?
Printmaking as an artform is so diverse . It continues to inspire such creativity. I am certain it will always be so.