A peep inside… Part 5: Homo-insecta Portfolio

An inside view of another book on my studio table, shortly before it was packaged up and delivered to Stephen McLaughlan Gallery in good time for the opening of Artist Books & Folios on September 20.

Pictured above: Homo-insecta Portfolio, 2013, unbound artist book with selected page views. A4-sized folio with hand-coloured linocuts and inkjet-printed text. 

The linocuts recall the kind of fantastical specimens that might be found in a Cabinet of Curiosities (think Feejee mermaid). I also drew inspiration from the works of one of my favourite artists, the naturalist, entomologist and scientific illustrator, Maria Sibylla Merian. 

Homo-insecta Portfolio was originally created for the group exhibition Wonder Room, exhibited at Maroondah Art Gallery in 2013. 

Coming event: ARTIST BOOKS & FOLIOS

I’m very excited to be exhibiting with book artists extraordinaire Elizabeth Banfield and Theo Strasser in ARTIST BOOKS & FOLIOS in the South Gallery at Stephen McLaughlan Gallery next month. 

ARTIST BOOKS & FOLIOS runs from September 20 - October 7.

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

Further details to follow soon. Meanwhile, we hope you’ll save the date!

MY MONSTER floor talk

Far left: artwork by Patricia Piccinini, foreground: my unbound artist book Homo-insecta, an Unnatural History Portfolio

Today is the first day of the Melbourne International Film Festival; between now and 19 August, I'll be seeing over 60 films. Just before I throw myself down the rabbit hole and into the Wonderland of MIFF 2018, here are some snapshots of last night’s floor talk, METAMORPHOSIS AND TRANSFORMATION, presented with Jazmina Cininas as part of MY MONSTER: The Human Animal Hybrid at RMIT Gallery. (Scroll down to see Jazmina and I with a selection of her astonishing Girlie Werewolf reduction linocuts). 

Many thanks to exhibition curator Evelyn Tsitas, to RMIT Gallery for having us and to all who came along. 

Photo credits: Shane Jones.

In full voice, alongside my Homo-insecta watercolours

It was delightful, as always, to reunite with my old friend and former colleague
Jazmina Cininas and her Girlie Werewoves

Homo-insecta at Melbourne Athenaeum Library

Homo-insecta: An unnatural history portfolio, 2013, hand-coloured linocuts and text

In celebration of the bicentenary year of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, the inmates of Homo-insecta: An unnatural history portfolio will shortly spread their wings in readiness for flight to Melbourne Athenaeum Library.

The unbound artist book is part of the solo exhibition accompanying my residency at the library for Melbourne Rare Book Week.

The residency runs from Saturday 30 June - Saturday 7 July.

Library hours :
Saturday: 10 am - 2 pm
Monday, Tuesday & Thursday: 10 am - 6 pm
Wednesday: 10 am - 8 pm
Friday: 10 am - 4 pm
Artist talk: Wednesday 4 July, 6 -7 pm

For information about related events and inside views of Homo-insecta: An unnatural history portfolio, visit Moth Woman Press HERE.

Between the Sheets

Top: Between the Sheets: Installation view, Gallery Central, Perth, WA
Base: Homo-insecta - An Unnatural History Portfolio, 2013, artist book, hand coloured linocuts and inkjet prints, 33H 24W x 1.5D cm, edition 2/10.

An installation view of Between the Sheets, the international artist books exhibition that includes my unbound book, Homo-insecta (foreground, right) inset below with the front cover and selected page views.

Between the Sheets
Gallery Central
12 Aberdeen Street
Perth
Western Australia

The exhibition opened on 7 March and runs until 2 April.

For full details of the exhibition, visit Moth Woman Press HERE.

Feature article in IMPRINT

A couple of months back, Kate-Gorringe Smith, Acting Editor of the Print Council of Australia's quarterly journal IMPRINT, contacted me and asked if I would write an article on my books and zines for the summer edition. As good timing would have it, the issue in question (volume 49, number 4) has just been published; it complements perfectly my current exhibition at the Art Vault, as it discusses in part the unbound artist book Homo-insecta, selected works from which are exhibited in the show.

Pictured below: installation views of Homo-insecta in Gallery 2 at the Art Vault

Selected Homo-insecta and zines. Hard at work in Gallery 1 (in this and the following shot): Sonja Hodge and Anne Spudvilas

2014 Australian Print Workshop Summer School: Nature in Print

I’m delighted to be one of the special guest artists of the 2014 Australian Print Workshop Summer School. Fellow guest artists are Vicki Couzens, Juan Ford, Tim Jones, Roslyn Kean and Lisa Roet.

Cover art above left: Louise Weaver, le tigre, photo-lithograph

My workshop includes a field trip to the Natural History section of Melbourne Museum. Its remarkable insect collection has been a rich source of inspiration for much of my own work:

Homo-insecta, 2013 (images only): Portfolio cover: 33H x 24W x 1.5 D cm Cover art: linocut, hand coloured 22.5 x 12.5 cm 

Contents: 7 linocuts, hand coloured, 29.5 x 21 cm; edition: 10

During the workshop I will produce a limited edition print, working in collaboration with Master Printer Simon White. This week I visited the museum to do some preliminary research:

For full details of the APW Summer School workshops, visit the links below:

Linocut and the Melbourne Museum

Instructor: APW Printer Simon White

Tuesday 28 January – Thursday 30 January

10 am – 4 pm each day

Australian Print Workshop
219 Gertrude Street
Fitzroy Vic 3065
03 9419 546
http://www.australianprintworkshop.com/default.asp

Download the enrolment form here:
http://www.australianprintworkshop.com/education/pdf/APW_Summer_School_2014.pdf