The largest celebration of contemporary original print is returning to London’s stunning Royal Arsenal heritage site at Woolwich Works. Now in its eighth year, Woolwich Contemporary Print Fair (WCPF) is more than ‘just an art fair’, and this year has partnered with leading creatives, collectors, and curators to bring together an incredible programme of interactive workshops, talks and demonstrations, suited to all ages. From 26-28th October, 1000+ limited edition prints from emerging artists to famous names, all of which are available to purchase, will be on show!
Below, we check out some of the incredible printed works from members of our community who will be exhibiting at WCPF 2023.
Jodie Wingham 
2023 will be Jodie Wingham’s 3rd year exhibiting at WCPF. Jodie’s creative practice currently lies within Mokulito printmaking, specifically the Mokulito print and its visual aesthetic connection to the body. The lines of the birch plywood plate she uses for her imagery bare similarities with the lines on the hands she depicts. Jodie states; “For me, it has become the perfect printing method to explore body language and how we read other people through their subtle gestures”. This year, Jodie’s Contemplative Series will be on display. The hands’ blue tones are inspired by Albrecht Durer’s praying hands; a beautiful study of a Religious nature that shows the texture and form of the hands perfectly. Contemplative V may not be religious but there is a religious undertone, one of contemplation, the oval nature of the image is used to reference traditional religious and iconoclastic paintings. The blue provides both a calming effect but also one of melancholy, this is further referenced in the grain of the wood appearing like waves in the image linking to the calmness of water. This will be the 3rd print in the series to be exhibited at the fair from a current 5 she has created. Jodie tells us; “I knew from past exhibiting artists that Woolwich was a great event to be part of, not only do you have your work on display in a fantastic location, but your work is on display to a huge audience allowing great exposure and hopefully sales. I love attending the fair each year to catch up with fellow artists and be inspired by the work on display.”
Stewart Taylor
Stewart Taylor will be exhibiting 2 works at this years event. The first is his large-scale Joshua Tree piece, inspired by the devastating Cima Dome wildfire of 2020 in the Mojave National Preserve that destroyed over 1 million of this threatened species. The second, smaller monoprint is of a deciduous tree from the banks of the Danube in Slovakia, from a small series that were originally photographed for Stewart by fellow artist Eva Boda. The work was created as part of a collaboration and discussion around urban and rural spaces, and how they can be managed for the benefit of both people and the regeneration of ecosystems. Stewart has been part of WCPF since 2018, and tells us; “In my opinion, it’s the stand-out fair in London for printmaking of any kind, and I think it makes the work incredibly accessible“.
Emma Studd
“I love the Woolwich Contemporary Print Fair and every year I create a range of new work to apply with. I’m very proud to have been selected for the last 5 years and every year it gets bigger and better,” says printmaker Emma Studd. Emma’s work is defined by her use of bold colours and geometric shapes, but for WCPF 2023 one of Emma’s more abstract works has been selected. She will be showcasing Ebb and Flow, a small triptych and one-off piece. The piece is loosely based around landscape and our disjointed connection to it. Emma tells us; “As always I’m excited to see all the other talented Printmakers and their work in this incredible International Print exhibition.”
Deborah Hercun
Three of Deborah Hercun’s prints have been selected for this year’s event; Spire 1959, An August afternoon, and Where? Over here?. On the surface, these pieces display Deborah’s interest in architecture, urban spaces, and shadows, but they also further explore the spaces in between; the emptiness and the profound stillness. Deborah’s work is informed by photography, with her technique of choice being photopolymer etching, and to a lesser degree, screenprinting and photolithography. She first attended WCPF back in 2019; her fledgling year as a printmaker (after a career in publishing). “I was aware of its importance to the print world, so I wanted to explore and be inspired by other work, and to try to study the techniques,” says the printmaker.
Jenny Mason-Gunning / Ironbridge Studio
This year, Jenny Mason-Gunning will be bringing two pieces to WCPF, as well as three of Ironbridge’s Gunning Etching Presses. During the entire show, they’ll be doing live printing demonstrations, printing intaglio and relief plates. One of the presses is also being lent out to other printmakers during the show. Jenny will be exhibiting Aquatint and sugar lift etchings, highlighting her profound fascination with the old and abandoned, where nature is gradually reclaiming its territory. The juxtapositions and intricate details within these structures are a constant source of inspiration for Jenny. Equally important is the rich history that lies behind these places. “I derive immense joy from uncovering locations that were once bustling hubs of industry and life,” says the printmaker.
Patrick Ireland
“I wanted to be part of WCPF2023 to meet the other artists, see how people are pushing the different printing techniques and interpreting what it means to be a printmaker these days,” states artist Patrick Ireland. He will be bringing two large scale pieces to this year’s show. Each piece involved using a jigsaw power tool to cut and draw shapes into the wood, resulting in a distinctive style. The pieces were then hand-printed, without the use of a printing press, which adds a layer of physicality to an already intricate process. This technique allows Patrick to push the boundaries of what is possible with colour block printing. The works are directly inspired by Caravaggio’s religious paintings. Patrick comments; “I began this work as a means to explore how Christianity has formed the foundation and psycho-geography of our society, shaping our perceptions of morality, spirituality, and even aesthetics. However, during and due to the creative process, the work evolved to become an exploration of my artistic self-belief.”
Lucille Clerc
Illustrator Lucille Clerc is excited to be back at WCPF for 2023; “There is such a variety of works presented and it’s fantastic to see all possibilities and all personal ways to approach print making techniques. The level of skills is very impressive, and there is so much to see, it’s a real feast for the eyes!” This year, she will be bringing work from her Dungeness Garden series to the show. The Dungeness Garden series is a set of five hand-drawn illustrations, hand printed, and screen printed in CMYK process (four layers). It is composed of a diptyque Day and Night in Prospect Cottage, a tribute to the wonderful garden created by Derek Jarman and his pioneer vision of modern landscaping design, integrating the local nature as part of his creation. The three other prints depict the surroundings of Prospect Cottage. All the prints share the same horizon line, so it continues from one print to the next and extends outside the boundaries of the frames. One is inspired by the boat graveyard across Prospect Cottage and a particular boat that looked ready to sail despite its big hole and stitched-up boards.
Gabriela Jolowicz
Gabriela Jolowicz will be showcasing her Pool woodcut at WCPF 2023. She works exclusively in black and white woodcuts that are reminiscent of enlarged newspaper illustrations. On the displayed piece, Gabriela tells us; “In general I love to look at pools and water and also depictions of both. I often combine styles in one picture. Here it becomes quite obvious: outside the pool everything is only defined by thin white outline, whereas inside the pool, there is a striking black and white contrast.” Thus, the perspective in the work seems slightly off, appearing very 3D, despite it being a 2D relief print.
DeAnne Frost
2023 is DeAnne Frost’s first year exhibiting at WCPF. She uses screen printing to create her contemporary and abstract work. DeAnne exposes different sizes of rectangles and squares onto her silkscreens and uses them to play with layers, colours, and textures on paper. As part of this year’s event DeAnne will be showing a large, colourful, rainbow-inspired screenprint that takes inspiration from the beauty of nature and her surroundings in Scotland where she lives. She states; “I am so excited to be taking part in this year’s WCPF and will be taking my daughter and mum with me to the fair, which will be a very proud moment for me to see my work hung with so many other talented printmakers. I also can’t wait to see all the other exhibitors and to buy some art for my own home.”
Hannah Gilson
WCPF was the start of Hannah Gilson’s contemporary print journey.She first exhibited with them in 2021, and was awarded the Boodle Hatfield Printmaking Prize for her work Flowers. This year, as part of the prize, Hannah has her own booth and the creative freedom to produce a series of works especially for the fair. Hannah will also be taking part in Bonhams’ Text me if you can auction which will showcase an exclusive edition of her piece Knowledge. For the 2023 edition of WCPF Hannah will be displaying her Wild Swans series; a collection of work which focuses on the retelling of Hans Christian Andersen’s tale of the same name. Through the combining of text and image, Hannah amplifies aspects of the female experience and creates a new narrative that draws upon pop-cultural references.
26-29 October 2023, Woolwich Works, The Fireworks Factory, Royal Arsenal, London SE18 6HD
Online Edition 26 October – 05 November 2023
Book your tickets here.
www.woolwichprintfair.com
@woolwichcontemporaryprintfair
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