World of the Book, 2023-24

Pictured above and below are selected highlights from a recent mad dash to revisit the latest iteration of World of the Book in the dome of the State Library of Victoria one last time before the exhibition closed.

The section focusing on silhouettes included four page views from my unbound artist book, Leaves of Absence, 2017, collection: State Library of Victoria. (Images 1-2). Coincidentally, the book is also on display just a few tram stops away at Melbourne Athenaeum Library. It has been a thrill to see my work placed in this particular context, alongside works by some of the greats of silhouette art, among them, Arthur Rackham and contemporary artist, Kyoko Imazu. 

Of greatest personal significance were the sections devoted to Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (I was particularly taken with Lynd Ward’s illustration in the 1934 edition, pictured above) and Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking Glass, and What Alice Found There, with illustrations by John Tenniel. Both authors have had considerable impact on my own work. 

The following works are by Dianne Longley (Threads Drawn from the Past, Towards a Digital Future, 2005) and Angela Cavalieri, whose large-scale linocut, Luce, 2005, was inspired by a 2003 residency undertaken at the British School in Rome. The work, which references Donato Bramante’s Tempietto of San Pietro in Rome, is equally at home in the dome gallery overlooking the library’s magnificent Reading Room (final view). 

The exhibition opened on 1 April, 2023 and closed on Sunday, 12 May, 2024.

National Portrait Gallery London

 

On one level it’s still hard to believe I’m back in London, yet on another level, it feels as if I’ve never been away. 

At the National Portrait Gallery on a wet Wednesday afternoon, (pictured top), I paid homage to Mary Shelley, whose gothic novel, Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus (1818) was the primary inspiration for my artist book, Progeny (2018), currently on exhibit in the three-person show ARTIST BOOKS & FOLIOS at Stephen McLaughlan Gallery, Melbourne. 

Coincidentally, at that very moment (or remarkably close to it), Stephen McLaughlan sent through some installation views of the exhibition, one of which is pictured below. In the bottom right hand corner is a detail of Progeny. 

Thank you to the lovely young woman who took the first photo after I’d snapped her with the portrait of her literary hero, Lord Byron. (Apologies to John William Polidori, whose portrait I’m blocking). 

All three writers (pictured above) were present on the rainy night in Geneva when 18-year old Mary Shelley conceived Frankenstein and Polidori concocted his chilling tale The Vampyre, the first modern vampire story to be published in English. (In another noteworthy coincidence, Polidori was the uncle of Dante Gabriel Rossetti and Christina Rossetti, whose exhibition at Tate Britain, The Rossettis, that also includes works by Elizabeth Siddal, I’m intending to visit today).

Meanwhile, back in Melbourne, Progeny and a plethora of artist books are on view in the exhibition

ARTIST BOOKS & FOLIOS 
Deborah Klein, Elizabeth Banfield and Theo Strasser 
Stephen McLaughlan Gallery. 

The Opening Event is from 2-4 pm on Saturday September 23.

I’ll still be in London, but my partner Shane Jones will be there in my stead and would be delighted to see you. 

To preview the exhibition, visit Moth Woman Press HERE.

ARTIST BOOKS & FOLIOS runs to October 7. 

A peep inside… PROGENY

 

This is the first of a series of peeps inside some of the artist books on the table in my last post, beginning with Progeny, 2018 (one-of-a-kind concertina book, hand-lettered and drawn in India ink, pigmented drawing inks and gouache, with hand-stitching and cloth cover with debossed text).

Progeny was made in 2018 when I was artist-in-residence at Melbourne Atheneum Library for Melbourne Rare Book Week. 2018 also marked the 200th anniversary of the publication of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. This was the impetus for my artist book. 

In Mary Shelley’s novel, the “monster” promises to vanish from Dr Frankenstein’s life if he will build him a female mate to ease his loneliness. Frankenstein reluctantly complies, but at the last minute, he destroys her. 

My book takes its title from the following quote:

“And now, once again, I bid my hideous progeny go forth and prosper. I have an affection for it, for it was the offspring of happy days, when death and grief were but words, which found no true echo in my heart”.

— Mary Shelley, from her Introduction to the 1831 edition of Frankenstein, or, the Modern Prometheus, first published January 1, 1818.

Progeny will shortly be resurrected in 

ARTIST BOOKS & FOLIOS
Deborah Klein, Elizabeth Banfield and Theo Strasser
South Gallery, Stephen McLaughlan Gallery 
The exhibition  runs from September 20 - October 

FRANKENSTEIN’S WOMEN update

At last, the lino blocks for my forthcoming artist book, Frankenstein's Women, are just about ready for printing.

The project, which focuses on the marginalised women in Mary Shelley’s gothic novel, Frankenstein; or, the Modern Prometheus, began life at Melbourne Athenaeum Library during a residency for Melbourne Rare Book Week in 2018, the bicentennial year of the novel’s publication.

My heartfelt gratitude to Paul Compton for his considerate and extremely generous gift, the v-tool seen bottom right. Not only is it a thing of beauty, it cuts through lino like butter.

For views of individual blocks and further information, visit Moth Woman Press. 

Bride of the Revolution

It can be frustrating when a work in progress remains in limbo for too long. Sometimes, however, it can be a blessing, as in the case of my linocut, The Bride. Aside from the Title and Colophon pages, it’s the final work intended for the artist book Frankenstein’s Women, which centres on the women in Mary Shelley’s gothic novel, Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus. The delay has enabled me to rethink the work a little (see below) before too much was cut away. I’ve reworked part of the drawing and added a thin choker (see above) which, in the finished work will be coloured red.

The choker was in particular vogue during the French Revolution, although it was hardly a fashion accessory. Female French ex-patriots wore red ribbon chokers as coded testaments to their own close escapes from the guillotine, and as a tribute to those who were not so fortunate. The colour red signified droplets of blood around a severed head.

Mary Shelley's political views were inherited from her parents Mary Wollstonecraft and William Godwin, whose politics leaned to the far left. Frankenstein may have its roots in Romanticism, but it is equally an allegory for the Reign of Terror, a commentary on mass revolution and social injustice. Frankenstein’s monster personifies the revolutionaries in terms of the dehumanising, brutalising affect of cruelty, poverty and neglect. Frankenstein and his family represent the bourgeoisie. 

For further reading, go HERE. 

The linocuts from Frankenstein's Women will be exhibited in a solo show at HipCat Printery, opening on October 12.

Some recent events

The Goldfields Printmakers end of year meeting in Kittelty's at the Art Gallery of Ballarat.
Left: GP Treasurer, Anne Langdon, centre: James Pasakos; far right: Loris Button. 

On Saturday, 1 December, the Goldfields Printmakers held their final meeting for 2018 over an early pre-Christmas brunch at Kittelty's, the Art Gallery of Ballarat's splendid cafe.

After our meeting, the Goldfields Printmakers visited the Arts Academy, where we viewed
  Encounter, our portfolio of prints exhibited in the Open Folio section of IMPACT 10  

In recent weeks, GP founder James Pasakos and GP member Loris Button returned from IMPACT 10, the international print conference in Santander, Spain. Our group exhibited in the Open Folio section and some members, including James and Loris, also held major shows. Other members, including myself, participated in group exhibitions - in my case, Thinking of Place ll.

The meeting was a timely opportunity to share the news of the acquisition of my artist book Leaves of Absence by the National Gallery of Australia. The first archival pigment prints I ever made were for Not Born Digital, the Goldfields Printmakers project created for IMPACT 9 in Hangzhou, China in 2015. They sowed the seeds for a completely new direction in my work that over the following two years culminated in Leaves of Absence and, more recently, the archival pigment print Bell Jar, 2018. (See following image).

Future Goldfields Printmakers shows will be announced in the New Year, once venues and dates have been confirmed.

At Tacit Galleries with my archival pigment print, Bell Jar, inspired by Sylvia Plath's semi-
autobiographical novel, The Bell Jar. Photo credit: Shane Jones.

Blarney Books and Art's tenth annual Biblio Art Prize exhibition recently travelled from its home in Port Fairy to Tacit Galleries in Collingwood, where it continues until Sunday, 16 December. Two of my works, Bell Jar, an archival pigment print, and Progeny, a unique artist book, are finalists in this year's Biblio.

The photos directly above and below were taken at Tacit Galleries on opening night, Wednesday 5 December.

An installation view of my one-of-a-kind artist book Progeny, currently at Tacit Galleries as part of Biblio Art Prize 2018.
Progeny, which was highly commended, takes Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein as its point of departure.

In other recent news, on Friday, December 7, Shane Jones and I attended the Australian Print Workshop Artist's Party, thrown by the APW as a thank you to all the artists who donated print editions to IMPRESSIONS 2018, its biennial fundraising exhibition.

As in previous years, we were treated to some memorable musical interludes. Guitar duo Graeme Drendel and Rick Amor were a marvellous 'warm-up' act to the fabulous Press Gang, comprising Jazmina Cininas, Julie Forrester, Simon White, Martin King, Adrian Kellett and Graeme Drendel. Printmaking luminaries, all of them, and damned fine musicians too.

L-R: APW Director Anne Virgo, Rick Amor, Martin King and Graeme Drendel

The legendary Press Gang, from L-R: Jazmina Cininas, Simon White, Julie Forrester, Adrian Kellett, Martin King
 and Graeme Drendel

As if this weren't enough, there were also prizes. I never win door prizes, raffles and suchlike, so couldn't have been more surprised when my name was one of those drawn from a hat. I won a linocut 'hamper' that included a lino block of the exact size I'm using for a current project, a tube of Charbonnel (my favourite ink), a baren and a fine set of linocut tools. Coincidentally, Shane won an identical prize. We're both feeling rather chuffed.

Directly below are just some of the many prints on view in IMPRESSIONS 2018. My linocut, Prelude, is on the bottom row, centre.

For further details of IMPRESSIONS 2018, including a complete list of participating artists, go HERE.

The show continues to 16 February, 2019. To check the APW's hours over the Christmas break, go HERE.

Biblio Art Prize Part 2: Opening night

At the launch of Biblio Art 2018 with my shortlisted entry, Bell Jar
Photo credit: Shane Jones

The 10th Annual Biblio Art Prize, co-ordinated by Blarney Books & Art, opened last Saturday evening, November 3, to a packed house. Two of my works were finalists: Bell Jar, an archival pigment print inspired by Sylvia Plath's novel The Bell Jar and the Frankenstein-inspired Progeny, a unique artist book (pictured in situ third from top). I was delighted when the latter received a Highly Commended Award from judges Justine Hyde (Director, Library Services, State Library of Victoria) and Vanessa Gerrans (Director, Warrnambool Art Gallery). 

The Biblio Art Prize was awarded to Mandy Gunn for her superb work, Pillars of Wisdom.

For detailed views of Progeny, scroll down to my previous post. For selected views of the exhibition launch, visit Moth Woman Press HERE.

Bell Jar, 2018, archival pigment print, 42.5 x 32 cm,
edition no. 1/10

Installation view of my artist book Progeny in the Biblio Art Prize 2018 at Blarney Books & Art

Biblio Art Prize, Part 1

Pictured: ‘Progeny’, 2018, unique artist book, pigmented drawing ink, gouache and hand stitching with cloth binding, 16.5 x 91 cm (open)

Two of my works, including Progeny, a one-of-a-kind artist book, are finalists in the Biblio Art Prize 2018, which celebrates its 10th anniversary this year.

Progeny was created during my residency at Melbourne Athenaeum Library for Melbourne Rare Book Week 2018. Its point of departure is Mary Shelley’s groundbreaking Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus, also celebrating a significant anniversary in 2018: the 200th year of its publication. 

In related noteworthy anniversaries, 28 October was the 116th birthday of the great Elsa Lanchester, arguably best known for her astonishing portrayal of the Bride of Frankenstein (1935) in James Whales’s eponymous film (widely considered to be the finest of all the Frankenstein movies and a masterpiece in its own right), and today, October 31, is Halloween.

Biblio Art Prize

Blarney Books & Art  

37 James Street,
Blarney 

Port Fairy

Victoria

The show runs from 3 November - 2 December and, following this, travels to Tacit Galleries in Melbourne, where it will be exhibited from 5 - 16 December 2018. 

Photos by Tim Gresham.