Seeing Things: collagraph prints by Cath Bristow
30th March – 24th April 2015
Please ring T 020 8464 5816 to view
Open eve 30th March 7-9pm
The loose theme of my work explores the close existence between people and nature in an urban context. Even in our built up city environment birds, plants and animals live alongside us, a constant reminder that we are part of the natural world. C Bristow
Within my work I attempt to capture these fleeting moments, observing the brooding, silent, presence of a bird that has just landed or being mesmerized watching a gull wheeling effortlessly overhead.
A collagraph is a print taken from a printing plate that has been constructed from found materials, and incised lines to create a textural surface. The delicacy and rich textures achieved from working in collagraph suit my subject matter; this, combined with the gentle fluidity of tone and colour, help set the mood and atmosphere of my prints.
My work begins as a sketch of an everyday bird or animal that I have glimpsed on the street or in the park. Then I use a combination of sketching and playing with the arrangement of materials on the plate before fixing them down. Almost all the found materials I use are from the pavements and local shoreline of my neighbourhood in Brighton.
The finished plate is printed using the intaglio process; that is, by inking and wiping the plate several times with coloured ink before printing on dampened paper on an etching press. Some prints are made up of two printing plates the first printed intaglio, the second printed as a relief. Due to the nature of the hand printing process there are variations in colour within each edition making each print an individual. C Bristow