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The Americas Biennial Exhibition of Contemporary Prints 2010 Selections for Exhibition |
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Then Cleo Wilkinson |
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| Artist's Statement | ||
My interest lies in the power to evoke disquieting and elusive moments with subtle nuances of light that the richness of the mezzotint print technique can uncover. I am an explorer of twilight zones and ambiguous spaces. Much of my recent work explores ambivalence – suspended – the struggle with insight and doubt, hesitation and commitment. Moments of isolation an dislocation, stillness and silence where introspection and alienation are consciously engaged and interrogated. People waiting in darkness caught between expectation and anxiety is the most haunting imagery. My source of inspiration comes from memory and subconscious which is rearticulated into my own visual language. It stretches my investigation of ideas into solitude, symbolism of thought and the human condition. I like to suggest not prescribe – what is missing in the shadows and is suggested provides the greatest potential for me. The mezzotint is known as 'maniere noire.' It is extremely labour and time consuming process; an intensely intimate one and profoundly considered – for this reason there are only a relatively small number of artists who practice this print technique worldwide today. The mezzotint process was invented by Ludwig Von Seigen in Amsterdam in 1642. It is a laborious and time consuming technique for creating a print and primarily for this reason it is not widely used today. A copper or zinc plate is 'rocked' with a curved, notched blade until the surface is entirely pitted. At this stage an inked plate would print a rich uniform black. The artist then uses a scraper or burnisher to flatten the raised parts, a little for dark greys, a lot for light greys, completely for white (after inking a wiping, the plate hold not ink where it is smooth). The result of this process is an image emerging from pitch black 'nothingness' a true analogue to creation. Outlines are simplified by absence of line, while substance is rendered with a virtually infinite range of tonal subtlety. |
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| Statement of Artistic Process | ||
The mezzotint process was invented by Ludwig Von Seigen in Amsterdam in 1642. It is a laborious and time consuming technique for creating a print and primarily for this reason it is not widely used today. The mezzotint has been described as the most complex of all art forms. Mezzotint is among the most physically demanding mediums in art, once tried and quickly abandoned as “too difficult” for example by the great printmaker MC Escher. A cooper or zinc plate is 'rocked' with a curved, notched blade until the surface is entirely pitted. At this stage an inked plate would print a rich uniform black. The artist then uses a scraper or burnisher to flatten the raised parts, a little for dark greys, a lot for light greys, completely for white (after inking a wiping, the plate hold not ink where it is smooth). The result of this process is an image emerging from pitch black 'nothingness' a true analogue to creation. Outlines are simplified by absence of line, while substance is rendered with a virtually infinite range of tonal subtlety. No other art can give birth to such magnificent areas of light and shade as this purely tonal medium. Imagery is permeated by mystical elements derived from the unique special relationships of the mezzotint medium. This techniques demands a long involved process the artist can be very closely working on a plate for at least 100 hours before even starting to print the image. |
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| Bio | ||
2010 [Selected]
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