Woolwich Contemporary Print Fair (WCPF), the leading international art fair for original contemporary print, is back again for 2024. The fair presents a unique alternative model that is revolutionising the traditional art market, disrupting the elitist nature of art fairs, and pushing the boundaries of print. From 21-24 November 2024 Woolwich Works in London’s historic Royal Arsenal will come alive with over 1000 original works of art from specialist galleries, celebrated names and the next ones-to-watch, alongside an immersive and exciting programme of talks, tours, demonstrations and events from leading creatives, curators, collectors and collaborators.
Below, we take a look at some of the incredible printed works from members of our community who will be exhibiting at WCPF 2024.
Jodie Wingham
Jodie Wingham has been exhibiting at WCPF since 2021. She describes; “To have your work be selected is a fantastic opportunity, allowing a vast audience to see what you can do and also the chance to be involved in brilliant opportunities in association with the fair afterwards.” This year, Jodie is exhibiting To Hold, 2023, a mokulito piece that focuses on intimacy by looking at the intimacy between two people in a relationship through a delicate and tender hand position. Dark and moody, the hands are illuminated in white against the black surroundings, cradling one another and representing an act of protection and tenderness. Jodie comments; “Maybe I am an old romantic at heart! I wanted to capture a moment that effects the person looking at it, feel the emotion and be moved in some way that is personal to them.”
Shani McLane
2024 is Shani McLane’s debut at WCPF. The New Hampshire, USA-based artist’s work fuses images of the flowers of her home-state through screenprint onto glass. As a printmaker and glass artist, Shani uses methods that promote the STEAM initiative and advocate for environmental issues. Over the last decade, her work has focused on the importance of the Global Seed Vault in Svalbard, Norway, and the long time shift in climate patterns. Working with bold silhouettes that are manipulated through screen print and various firing schedules, her works are rich with texture and depth. After hearing about WCPF through the print world, Shani comments; “I am excited to show my work on a global platform amongst artists I have admired for years”.
Brie Barnacle
As part of 2024’s Curated Hang, Brie Barnacle will be exhibiting her multilayered screen print with monotype, Komorebi. Brie tells us; “I have exhibited at Woolwich before and think it is a wonderful event where you can see a wide variety of artists exploring print in new and innovative ways. I spoke at a printmaking symposium about new technologies in print last year which Jack Bullen, one of the co-founders of Woolwich Contemporary Print Fair also presented at. His passion for printmaking and vision for widening the scope of the fair inspired me to take part.” Komerebi is inspired by the Japanese phrase which is roughly translated as ‘the scattered light that filters through the leaves of the trees’. Within the piece, Brie has used light reflecting pigment to capture the dazzle of the sunlight and the brilliance of light. The visual ambiguity created by the light and shadow suggests the unobserved happy solitude that she finds in the landscape.
Euan Stewart
Euan Stewart has been a regular exhibitor at WCPF since 2018, and every year the fair marks a high point in the art year. This year, Euan will be exhibiting Revelation II, a limited edition linocut on Awagami Shirakaba paper. In recent years, Euan’s work has taken female and male figures in the anatomic pose and deconstructed them through use of line and colour, executed as sequences of relief prints. Duality is central to both the subject and execution of his print sequences: Male and female, serenity and violence, separation and communion, clarity and obscurity. Sequential prints explore the transition between these states and our collective and individual identity. Revelation II is the central print of one of these sequences and has an anatomical aspect and inherent violence which is hard to ignore. The figure is being pulled apart with tones of flesh and blood, revealing an inner self. Explaining why he enjoys taking part in WCPF, Euan states; “As I am based locally to the fair venue, I want to support and participate in the event in any way possible. It has been a pleasure to watch the fair grow and develop in to it’s current format through the careful consideration and extensive experience of the organisers.”
Stewart Taylor
2024 is Stewart Taylors 7th consecutive year exhibiting at WCPF. This year, York Fire II – Dusk and York Fire – Dusk VI will be showcased for the first time. Stewart describes; “For me, it’s the most engaging and enjoyable Art event of the year, with print demos from Art Academy London, Jealous Gallery, The Private Press and Ironbridge Printmakers. They also have bespoke daily tours of the work, and an expanded range of thought-provoking printmaking and artist’s talks scheduled for the duration of this year’s event, including discussions around broadening the access to printmaking to a wider community.” Both works that Stewart has on show this year are from his Joshua Tree series of Tree Portraits. These two pieces are a lament to the 2023 York Fire in the Mojave National Preserve, which devastated a huge swathe of pristine Joshua Tree country. This series highlights the species’ perilous situation in the western states of the USA. The works were produced using gelliplates, which Stewart has been experimenting with for the past 6 years, after moving away from screenprint. Although many of his monoprints are still ‘pure-print’, Stewart’s larger works are composite gelliprints which also incorporate drawing [ink/pencil/pen], working in negative using masking fluid, and pigmented filler.
Jaco Putker
“Being involved in WCPF24 is a great opportunity to showcase my work to a group of people specifically interested in, and dedicated to, print and printmaking. As an artist living on mainland Europe, being selected for the WCPF24 is a great way of being part of the printmaking community in the UK,” says printmaker Jaco Putker. Jaco has works from his series, Creeps & Cryptids, on show at WCPF24. The series is the result of a life-long fascination with monsters, mythical beings, and other fantastical creatures. Jaco tells us; “I found a challenge in trying to capture the visual essence of what makes an entity recognisable through the use of large blocks, or pixels, exclusively. By juxtaposing these large black blocky lifeforms against the real organic world, I aim to emphasise the strangeness of their existence and the storied encounters with them. Real or imaginary.”
Inga Eicaite
“I think WCPF is one of the biggest and most beautiful print fairs in the UK,” says London-based contemporary printmaker Inga Eicaite. Two of Inga’s etchings from her BALANCE series, B_03 and B_05, were selected as part of this year’s Curated Hang. With a style that is very minimal in colour and expression, Bauhaus and Constructivism are big influences on Inga’s work. Her sketchbook contains small random abstract intersections that she finds interesting, looking to nature as inspiration with all of its systems and mathematics. These ideas then develops into full-body prints. Her two works on show at WCPF24 take inspiration from the cosmos; its divine bodies and man-made elements (satellites, telescopes, starlink) that join into the whole. When framed, Inga presents them as small diagrams “pinned down to the board for research purposes” to be analysed. Inga will also have two more pieces on show this year as part of East London Printmakers’ display.
Robyn MacLennan
Although she has hosted demonstrations at WCPF before, 2024 is Robyn MacLennan’s first time exhibiting as an artist. Robyn is a printmaker and photographer who utilises multiple processes within her practice including photoetching, lithography, and cyanotype. Her work is influenced by nature and her research into ecoGothic theory, where she looks at the the links between the darkness found in the forest and the necessity of darkness to photography and print. Her debut will see the exhibiting of Rootwad; a paper lithograph print made up of six panels. The piece was inspired by a huge fallen tree in Harlestone Forest where Robyn takes a lot of her photographs. She comments; “I really wanted to reflect the enormity of this giant of the forest by creating my largest work to date. I also love the paper lithography technique because it naturally degrades a photo and adds texture that you wouldn’t get in a digital print.”
Jemma Gunning
Etching printmaker Jemma Gunning has been involved with the WCPF since the very beginning. She states; “Each year, I feel an even deeper connection to this community of printmakers; it’s wonderful to witness the diversity of styles and techniques that are continually emerging in contemporary printmaking. WCPF has created an inclusive, supportive environment, allowing us to celebrate each other’s work and share ideas. In her practice, Jemma strives to create detailed, evocative prints that reflect the impermanence of the scenes she encounters, from derelict buildings that once teemed with life to sweeping, rugged landscapes that bear the marks of time. For 2024, Jemma will be showing a work from her series that documents an abandoned asylum; a place that, for Jemma, holds a poignant mix of history, memory, and disrepair. “Visiting the site, I felt the heavy presence of its past; it was once a place of care, albeit under fraught circumstances, and now stands forgotten and silent,” describes the printmaker. By documenting this asylum through print, Jemma captures both its physical structure and the echoes of what it once represented.
Book your tickets here. We’re delighted that WCPF are offering our community a 20% discount on Single Day Passes and the New Collectors’ Evening when entering WCPF-POP-24 at check-out.
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