Hybrid Monotypes, Etchings and Drypoints

Artizan welcomes Cornwall based artist Beth Munro as we continue with our series of solo shows at our dedicated printmaking and sculpture gallery on Lucius Street.

Beth will be exhibiting a series of Hybrid Monotypes, etchings and dry points which were begun in 2022 and have since developed into a large body of work. The Flotsam and Jetsam served up daily by the ocean became her entry into exploring the world beneath the waves.

Using man made and organic materials found on her local beach, she builds her prints layer by layer, colour by colour. The act of Printing becomes a conversation between the physical application, the reveal and ones response. The work literally takes on a life of its own, as a narrative appears within the marks, the textures, the forms.’

The story behind the work:

‘I am lucky enough to live by the sea. In fact, I’ve lived my whole life by a sea, or a river that leads to the sea, I’ve lived on the sea, and I swim in the sea.

Each day Ottie, my dog and I explore the beach thoroughly, looking at the rock formations, the shoreline, and the flotsam and jetsam that appears anew each day. I started collecting seaweed in 2020 and learnt how to identify it, press it, and preserve it. I collected strange organic objects that revealed themselves to be cuttlefish bones, ray egg cases, bones from dolphins, sponges and holdfasts, the strange handlike structures that Kelp use to attach themselves to rocks.

I began researching marine life that I found captured in the rockpools at low tide and became fascinated by the curious and often surprising lives they shared in these complex habitats brimming with biodiversity.

I also collected a lot of plastic waste, fishing detritus and general rubbish that the sea gave up each day. To begin with I brought it home and recycled it or threw it in the bin, after time I decided to keep each day’s haul and label it with the date and where I was walking. It didn’t take long before my studio was full of bags, all labelled, all slightly giving off a fishy, sea weedy odour, silently telling me to do something with them.

I decided to use the contents of these bags as a starting point for a new series of work that looked at the beauty of these underwater environments and our complex relationship with them. Trying to capture the sense of a world underwater, beneath the surface, but also try and say something about the impact of our behaviours on that environment.

Rummaging through my beach detritus I always find something that I can add into my images that can become a talking point, a gentle message or just a beautiful juxtaposition.

I have thoroughly enjoyed the creative freedom that Monotype can inspire and have grown in confidence as a result. In the last year I have been studying Kelp ecosystems along UK coastal shores and making work that hopefully reflects the size and beauty of these ancient forests.’

Beth’s exhibition will be hosted in our main gallery space whilst in our Courtyard Gallery we shall be hosting the first of our seasonal printmaker open exhibitions. Each space will also feature specially selected 3D works from our seasonal sculpture artists.

Opening week Tuesday - Saturday 10 am - 5 pm Thereafter Thursday - Saturday 10 am - 5 pm