Q & A

My initial attraction to printmaking came from my interest in photography and televisual mass media images during my years of undergraduate study. In particular, screen printing became a way of conceptually and materially executing my work in a way that I could not manifest in other mediums.

The ability to slow and hold reproduced media generated images and allow a new space for recontextualising and interpretation, became an essential part of my process that was key to my early ways of making as an artist. Understanding the long historical interconnectedness of printmaking and the dissemination of information and images became more evident over time and further made it the material form of engagement that best aligned with my ongoing areas of conceptual research.

My first exposure to printmaking as a young student was one of intimidation and fear of the technical exactitude that was seemingly required to make print ‘properly’. However, with guidance and research, I came to understand that this was a fictitious idea that I had incorrectly imagined about a medium that was aimed only at technical perfection. By more accurately understanding the process and embracing the potential for mistakes, I began to comprehend the experimental possibilities to seed and cultivate new ideas, as well as engage with other mediums. This engagement with process has always kept me coming back to printmaking over many years as a space for material and conceptual immersion.

While I have an interest in a wide range of printmaking techniques, both traditional and more experimental, including digital and analogue approaches, screenprinting remains the medium I consistently return to as my preferred form of image-making.

What draws me most to screenprinting is its versatility. The process allows for experimentation with different materials, surfaces, and textures, which in turn opens up a broad spectrum of conceptual possibilities. Its inherent flexibility supports both precision and improvisation, making it an ideal platform for pushing visual and material boundaries.

I’m also drawn to the language of the screenprinting process itself (terms like stretch, strain, screen, separate, and interference) which conceptually reflect on the way I engage with images. These technical aspects often parallel the conceptual areas I investigate in my work.

Reproduced images are embedded in every stage of my practice. I use digital tools not only to source and manipulate these images but also to interrogate the way technology alters their meaning. I source images at an end point where they have been reproduced, recaptured, reformatted, and re-disseminated through various means of technology, to call attention to this constant process of digital mediation and deliberately pause this cycle of rapid digital circulation, by holding these images in a form of analogue reproduction. This slowing down and observing invites reflection on the role of mediation and the potential for manipulation embedded in every image.

Digital working processes influence all steps of my process as an artist, alongside my thinking being guided by the need for the translation of these images into an analogue outcome. At all moments I am engaging with both the digital and the analogue and need to step between these two ways of thinking and working to achieve how I want my practice to materially exist. I want my work to exist in a grey area between the analogue and the digital and use the conflicting matrices to illuminate interference and force irregularities to the surface of the work. My intention is to expose the language of image construction at its base level and highlight the potential for artifice that exists in all images.

I tend to focus on producing individual works that centre around the exploration of individual images and their interaction with specific materials. The ‘unique’ print in my practice allows for a more detailed exploration of the subtleties within a singular image and its relationship to a particular chosen material.

In an image saturated media landscape where the requirement for speed is inherent in all mass produced images, there is an increasing reliance on digital technologies. In opposition to this emphasis on ‘fast’ images, I instead opt for ‘slow’ outcomes, focussing on singular, unique prints to emphasise and illuminate the consumption and disposability of contemporary images and to call into question the authenticity of these images and their original intended meaning. This deliberate counterpoint is a conscious advancing of the singular in an age of digital abundance. Each individual work is intended to critique or analyse the chosen image in relation to the inherent qualities of the selected materials and how this manifests in the final artwork.

I choose printmaking as a form of image making because of what the medium can offer my practice conceptually and materially, in the ways that other mediums cannot achieve. As a result, my work requires an individual outcome and does not need to be reproduced beyond the initial image and material investigation. However, in contradiction to this, if a print-based artist’s work requires an edition or the rendering of multiples to conceptually advance the work further, then this too would be appropriate for that specific work. Both are equally valid if the original conceptual intent is justifiable.

One of the main reasons I am drawn to printmaking is the strong sense of community embedded in the medium. Print studios are inherently collaborative spaces, it’s almost impossible to work in one without engaging with technicians or fellow artists. This constant exchange fosters an environment where ideas, techniques, and challenges are shared openly.

Collaborative dialogue is essential to pushing the boundaries of print and rethinking its place within contemporary art. Speaking with others during the making process offers critical insights and perspectives that can challenge your assumptions and enrich your work in ways that are less likely to occur in more solitary practices.

Working alongside other artists also opens up opportunities to discover shared research interests, develop new directions, and initiate future collaborations or exhibitions. The communal nature of printmaking not only supports technical growth but also encourages deeper conceptual development through shared experience.