Jackie Gorring: Callooh Callay!

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

A:  I make prints from very low-tech methods, basic stamps and variations and combinations of relief techniques. I work quickly, I improvise, desperate for the image to be raw and fresh without being laboured over at all. Styrofoam works well for this method, as images have to be simple and bold, given the nature of the material. I am interested in re-purposing and recycling materials so, within that, I make stamps from styrofoam pieced together or cut-out shapes. Making do with what I have at hand is vital to my practice as it opens up so many worlds for me, such as experimenting with printing on surfaces other than paper. This includes canvas or cardboard packaging as well as chine-colle, using patterned fabric adhered to paper or canvas. Other experiments include stamping on inked backgrounds, inking my blocks using paint brushes rather than rollers and wetting blocks or paper for deliberately fuzzy edges, using pipe-cleaners for linear prints, pulling and pushing them out of shape.

Q: How did the artwork selection take place

A: The prints are dated from 2021 to the present and all the works chosen are simple images, reflecting the human story. The works are reflections of my life here in my village; there is no recoding between an idea and its resulting image.

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

A: I hope the prints convey the rawness and spontaneity that printmaking can achieve. I want to demonstrate that prints can be made from various matrices and simple methods, without the need for expensive equipment. Prints can be made hewn roughly from unconventional matrix.

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

A: Out and About is the invitation image and typical of my subject matter: a neighbour paces up and down opposite my studio window waving to trucks.

I work with glimpses and interactions with locals/neighbours/family, in the small village in Allendale and beyond. Some are figures in the landscape wandering the streets, on phones, pacing or fixing machinery; some are living on the periphery of society, some misfits, some I befriend on walks as in Face Mix. The cardboard works are printed pipe-cleaners on packaging. These are local donkeys I visit daily.

Another favourite is Lonehand Gone – here, Kev who has been my muse for years, has left the area. He is a lone figure tinkering with machinery, an outsider mistrusting most people.

Rommey is a brown labrador I look after sometimes. He is a delight and can be very demanding. At these times I open the car boot and he will sit there for hours, it gives me some respite.

 Q: What is it about the printmaking experience that you most appreciate?

A: The scope and range of mark making techniques. The abundant free materials I can source. The fact that prints can be made affordable to the public. The joy and surprise I always glean from the print process.

—

Jackie Gorring: Callooh Callay!
Recent prints and artist books

Print Council of Australia Gallery, Studio 2 Guild, 152 Sturt St, Southbank

8 – 25 August, 2023, OPENING RECEPTION:  Thursday 10 August, 5-7pm

GALLERY HOURS Tues-Fri 10am-4pm

—