Parallel Prints 2013 NZ – UK
The concept behind ‘Parallel Prints’ is to present the same exhibition simultaneously in the UK and New Zealand.
Parallel Prints is an on-going project which began in 2013.
Using the uniqueness of the reproducible print allows for the same works to be viewed at the same time in different parts of the world thus highlighting the democratic nature of printmaking and questioning the aura of the unique. Which venue was showing the ‘real’ work? Which the reproduction?
Curated and coordinated by Mark Graver and Tania Booth in NZ, ‘Parallel Prints 2013’ featured the work of 12 diverse artists presented in a portfolio set.
Each artist contributed one work on 300 x 300 mm paper in an edition of 36 and the writer and critic Richard Noyce supplied an introductory essay. There are 24 portfolio sets, one for each artist and 12 for donation to international collections.
Exhibitions 2013
Art at Wharepuke, Kerikeri, NZ – July 15th – Sep 22nd
Ian Rastrick Fine Art, St.Albans, UK – Aug 9th – 16th.
In the UK venue a QR code linked to a video recording of the Wharepuke exhibition allowing the audience to encounter both exhibitions at once and a web cam in the gallery at Wharepuke allowed for audiences wherever they were to experience the New Zealand exhibition.
The folio was also exhibited in France in October 2013 at Galerie Apart, Le Bourg , Marcilhac -sur- Cele, in Germany and in Nanjing, China in 2014.
Impact 8 – Borders and Crossings
The portfolio was selected for presentation at the Impact 8 international printmaking conference in Dundee, Scotland This took place on August 31st.
“Impact 8 International Printmaking Conference was a celebration of interdisciplinarity and exploration through the medium of print.
The eighth Impact international conference was hosted in Dundee as a central element to the inaugural Print Festival Scotland – an event which aimed to confirm the cultural diversity, historical significance and future potential of print”.
Collections
Part of the concept behind the project was always to donate 12 of the portfolio sets to international collections. So far the following institutions have accepted a portfolio:
The Victoria &Albert Museum, London, UK
The Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, UK
The Whangarei Art Museum, NZ
The Kent Print Collection, Kent University, UK
Nanjing Art Gallery, Nanjjing, China
Art at Wharepuke, NZ
Ian Rastrick Fine Art, UK
The Artists
Representing the broad diversity of current printmaking process and practice the artists involved are:
Margaret Ashman , Duncan Bullen, Anne Desmet, David Ferry, Gillian Golding, Mark Graver, Weimin He, Johanna Love, Timo Lehtonen, Stephen Mumberson, Chris Pig and Sandy Sykes.
Web Site
A dedicated web site has been designed for the project
Parallel Prints web site
To purchase any of the prints please visit Fine Art Prints
For the Chinese version of the web page 中文
Parallel Prints 2015 NZ/Australia
The 2015 version of Parallel Prints took place simultaneously at Art at Wharepuke and the Art Gallery of Ballarat, Victoria, Australia between October 3rd and November 22nd 2015 and involved: Susanna Castleden, Antonietta Covino-Beehre, David Frazer, Mark Graver, Jodi Heffernan, Martin King, Deborah Klein, Bruno Leti, John Neeson, James Pasakos, Melissa Smith and Deborah Williams.