Our prints are all finished and have been packed into individual collections, one for each of the fourteen participating artists. Three sets will be sent to the conference in Oregon where they will be retained as a complete set for the SGC International Archives, Portland State University and Pacific Northwest College of Art. The remaining sets will be exhibited in NZ at a time and place yet to be arranged.
To read the statements for each of the themed portfolios that will be on show at the conference go to the SGCI website here.
This is the statement for our themed portfolio about to wing it's way to Portland, Oregon.
Altered Impressions
Curated by: Elle Anderson
As the mix of its citizens, living in Aotearoa New Zealand continues to evolve, so to is the way they interact with each other and the wider spaces they occupy. This evolution influences changes in the urban environment and it is with this inspiration that works will be generated, exploring how we, in Aotearoa, engage with a state of Flux. Alterations to a landscape creates a state of ebb and flow, a now and then, an unrest. Spaces where past and present can often clash, but also need to blend or live alongside each other, not just peacefully but also with tolerance. This constant adjustment creates a rich milieu in which many artistic conversations take place, providing each artist interpretive space to deal with such urban instability: Presenting areas for explorations from a personal, local and/or global perspective. One print within the portfolio will embrace this state of instability through exchange and evolution. This collaborative work, created by all printmakers in this group, will be generated and pass from artist to artist, each adding their voice to the print in response to what was done before. This print will further aim to reflect on a state of urban instability.
My individual print
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"Reflexivity"
Monotype, Lino print
by Toni Hartill for "Flux" |
"There is a need to be reflexive when
living in a constantly changing environment or risk being impacted by
unsympathetic or inevitable forces. Inhabitants need to find their equilibrium,
or be prepared to move on."
Reflexivity refers
to circular relationships between cause and effect. A reflexive relationship is
bidirectional with both the cause and the effect affecting one another in a relationship
in which neither can be assigned as causes or effects.
Seaweed is used as a metaphor for the state of flux brought about by a constantly evolving urban environment. I have tried to capture a sense of movement and energy as the Ecklonia hangs on tight in the strong currents of change. This image is very similar to a previous lino print made in the process of preparing for this project but I made small changes to try to be as expressive as possible in regards to the theme. The Ecklonia is still surging and swirling but it is now contained within the frame of the image: we have to be flexible and adaptable but often we still have to fit within the rules or boundaries laid out by others. The tiny fish can be seen to be going in all directions, some in confused groups, some out on their own, and some are about to depart the scene altogether. I also chose to steer away from a crisp image and tried to create something a little more weather-worn using slightly textured paper (Fabriano 5) and a monotype layer beneath the lino print, to try to create a sense of wear and tear and variation which we all experience in our daily effort to keep up with the rate of change around us.
Collaborative Print
My contribution to the collaborative print.
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Designing a mini lino block to fit
a free space on the collaborative print, linked to my individual print. |
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| All 20 prints done and drying |
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The collaborative print after the
6th person (me) has contributed. |
"Following on from ideas raised in my individual print I have again used seaweed as a metaphor for the need to be flexible with the constantly
changing environment. I also considered the theme of flux in the urban
environment to select my “site” on the print, shaping a plate to fit within a
free section, like one might design a house to fit within a small urban site,
knowing full well the instability of the situation, that planning may change
and my site could be “built over” by others."
