Water Dance (Porthmeor) IV, 2004, screenprint, edition of 70
Wilhelmina Barns-Graham | Printed Rhythms | Prints 1992 – 2004
This exhibition focuses on Barns-Graham’s late period printmaking. These joyous works show the full extent of her creativity and exuberance; for her printmaking was a liberating experience where she was able to ‘let rip’ (as she put it). The selection is of a range of prints from 1992 to 2004, with a number from those printed posthumously in 2006, principally in screenprint but also including one important rare lithograph – Two Circles on Purple from 1992.
A significant point in Barns-Graham printmaking career came with her introduction in 1998 to Carol Robertson and Robert Adam of Graal Press, based in Roslin. Working in close collaboration, an important new way for Willie to work was to apply individual marks on to separate sheets of clear acetate. This allowed her to re-use the acetates in different compositions, freeing her to create multiple images using the same marks. Furthermore, this allowed her to easily produce prints in series, introducing variations by playing with shapes and arrangements and altering colours. Among the series included in the exhibition will be examples from Millennium, Time, Water Dance (Porthmeor), Earth and Playing Games.