Q: What were some of the foundation ideas for this exhibition project?

A: Drawing on a shared interest in personal histories, gendered experiences, and cultural lifeworlds, Vanessa Wallace, Louise Grimshaw and Shanti Gelmi extend artworks commissioned for the Indian Ocean Craft Triennial 2024 exhibition, Unfold, curated by K. Scaddan at Midland Junction Arts Centre. The artists use their unique experiences as descendants of migrants to the Indian Ocean Region, specifically Western Australia, to create non-traditional artist books. The artists collaborate from the shared workspaces at Holmes Studio on the traditional lands of the Whadjuk Nyoongar people in Perth to extend these works for the Print Council of Australia, challenging themselves to reconsider the format of artist books and their connection to each other in their new studio.

Q: How did the artwork selection take place?

A: As printmakers who challenge traditional techniques, Wallace, Grimshaw, and Gelmi engage in experimental and contemporary processes that push the boundaries of their mediums.

For Holmes -31.988780 116.016100, they expand on their artist books—described as ‘indecipherable texts’—with new site-specific sculptural and print works that respond to (and reconsider) the medium of artist books to the Print Council of Australia. This new body of work not only reimagines the concept of artist books but also examines the intricate relationship between place, identity and artistic collaboration.

Sewn Sow (2024) by Shanti Gelmi, Sink or Swim (2024) by Louise Grimshaw and back in the moment (2024), by Vanessa Wallace, were previously exhibited as part of Unfold curated by K. Scaddan. The new works made in response include The Difference is in the Detail and The Inside Story by Gelmi, Remember a friend (Special edition: Della) by Grimshaw and Midweek Recall by Wallace. All these works draw on each of the artist’s history of works and the conceptual concerns that drive their respective practices. The use of materials and processes and the crossover of these allows the works to both remain distinct while at the same time clear links are visible.

Q: How does the exhibition manifest – what do visitors experience?

A: Holmes -31.988780 116.016100 at the PCA Gallery featurea sculptural and print works curated alongside the original artist books to which they respond. Layered wall works interact with non-traditional artist books that become more installation than book.

Upon entering the space, the viewer first encounters The Difference is in the Detail by Gelmi. The delicate screenprinted laser cut nets invite the viewer to go closer to decipher the text written on each of the works. The Inside Story initially gives the impression of small boxes reminiscent of a slice of cake. Open the box to reveal small triangles of various sizes, carefully collected by Gelmi following the laser-cut process that has been used.

Looking up, the viewer encounters Remember a Friend created by Grimshaw, and is encouraged to notice the printed image becoming slowly more visible as it descends downwards.

To the left, Sink or Swim has Grimshaw’s intricately folded books cascading down specially chosen plinths. Each book’s pages has been screenprinted in various shades of Paynes grey and contrasts with the brightly painted buoys that form the books’ covers.

Four tables set at various heights reveal small codex books each, modified in a slightly different manner. Entitled back in the moment these works by Wallace explore the way that memory changes over time. Midweek Recall, a layered wall work also by Wallace, draws on similar imagery and was made in direct response to back in the moment.

Sewn Sow sits at eye-level drawing the viewer closer to inspect the spools wrapped with handmade string. Gelmi prints multiple dot layers on vintage paper sewing patterns, which are then made into string.

Q: What are some of the key works and what subject matter do they deal with?

 A: At the heart of Holmes -31.988780 116.016100 is the concept of the indecipherable—a powerful metaphor for the complexities of humanity, connection and the ways narratives can be missed or fragmented due to our diverse cultural, social and gendered experiences. Through their reimagined artist books, Wallace, Grimshaw, and Gelmi embrace the beauty in what is not immediately understood, inviting viewers to engage with layers of meaning that unfold through time, interaction and perspective. The exhibition celebrates the variables of human experience as opportunities for deeper dialogue, encouraging us to listen, interpret and connect beyond the surface of language and form.

Grimshaw’s multidisciplinary practice spans printmaking, sculpture, and installation, exploring impermanence, loss, and the cyclical nature of existence. Her work captures the tension between remembrance and forgetting, as seen in Remember a Friend and Sink or Swim, special edition silkscreen prints inspired by memorial benches overlooking the ocean. Through layered imagery, repetition, and material transformation, Grimshaw creates immersive works that invite reflection on personal and collective memory. Pushing the boundaries of traditional print techniques, she challenges perception and evokes contemplation on life’s interconnectedness and fleeting moments.

Gelmi’s multidisciplinary practice examines human connection, identity, and cultural experience through installation, digital art, sculpture, print, and drawing. Her signature net-like structures symbolise the delicate balance between societal constraints and personal fluidity—both connecting and restricting. As a first-generation Australian of Indian migrants, Gelmi explores themes of assimilation, migration and cultural dissonance. Her artist books for Holmes -31.988780 116.016100 use indecipherable text and sculptural manipulation as metaphors for the complexities of migrant identity, highlighting the tension between transformation, belonging, and the unspoken narratives that shape experience.

Wallace’s print-based practice centres on bookmaking and the quiet moments of everyday life. Since 2000, she has built an archive of images capturing the ground beneath our feet, collected through time-based walks or singular journeys. Using layered analogue and digital print processes with autographic mark-making, Wallace selectively erases and reintroduces details, reflecting the shifting nature of memory. Her works, including back in the moment and Midweek Recall, feature deliberately obscured text—fragments of language that surface like fleeting recollections—creating a still, contemplative space where memory and perception intertwine.

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Holmes -31.988780 116.016100, by Shanti Gelmi, Louise Grimshaw and Vanessa Wallace, Gallery, is at the Print Council of Australia Gallery, Studio 2, Guild, 152 Sturt Street, Southbank, Victoria, until 4 April www.printcouncil.org.au