‘After the Storm’, and ‘Two Moments of Respite’, Mezzotints on Hosho Paper, Copper, Glass, (300x70x310mm), (560x70x310mm)
I was lucky enough to have four pieces displayed in the Summer Show. Two of these pieces were located downstairs in the Student Union Gallery, just by the foyer of uni. I decided to show three pieces on these lovely copper and glass shelves. The final prints were on Hosho Paper, so they had this lovely thin and floaty feeling. I fixed them onto the glass with a tiny amount of Yamato Nori Paste. The two shelves were displayed offset from each other, with one a little higher than the other two, to really get that upwards floating feeling. I was really impressed with the curation of this downstairs space and I love the fact that the orange colours of Lizzie’s work, opposite and next to my piece, really spoke to the copper I had used. Jirapak’s work on the back wall, with it’s golden reflective movement also had a really nice visual language crossover with my own work. I recieved great feedback over these pieces and I was really happy that people had as much fun looking at them, as I did making them. It’s really exciting to have these prints displayed in such an interesting way, as I believe I won’t have many opportunities in the future to present pieces like this in a group exhibition setting. I look forward to displaying this same setup elsewhere, most likely with new and improved cloud prints instead of the ones featured here.
‘Firmament I’ and ‘Firmament II’, Both Monotypes, (840x2000mm), (1640x675mm)
The next two pieces I displayed were ‘Firmament I’ and ‘II’. These pieces were displayed upstairs alongside some other darker work. I think that the two pieces together work really well, with one being taller, while the other is wider. Although I don’t see these pieces as completely realised, and I think I could create better cloud monoprints at a larger and more impressive scale in time, I also received really nice feedback on them, and enjoyed seeing people get up close to the prints, to try and discern patterns and marks within them. I received especially good feedback on ‘Firmament I’ (the longer ‘portrait’ piece), which was also my personal favourite. I really enjoy when people don’t know how my images are made, and I think that this is the major excitement with print for me, using mediums that aren’t often seen compared with traditional paintings or drawings. I was lucky enough to win an award from East London Printmakers group for these pieces, which I am very grateful for, and I’m sure this award will come in handy when access to studios at Camberwell has finished.
Overall I was impressed with the work I displayed at the Summer Exhibition, and I felt that this was a great jumping off point to continue exploring my motif of clouds as vessels of grief. I think that these images were the first real resolution I had felt to my series of work while on the MA course, and I became very excited to explore these ideas, especially the mezzotints, further in the future.
Ollie Norris 