Within the process itself, printmaking encompasses a wide range of techniques. Woodblock, linocut, mezzotint, engraving, lithography, and screenprinting are just some of the methods used to replicate an image through the transfer of ink to a surface. As a way of disseminating images, the practice has endured into the digital age, retaining its technical and aesthetic value in an era where an image can be circulated around the world in an instant.

For the artists in this exhibition – members of the Print Council Aotearoa New Zealand who work in traditional printmaking techniques –  the constraints of their discipline provide a framework to innovate and push boundaries. By folding in new technologies, experimenting with different surfaces, or cross-pollinating with other artistic disciplines, the works here continue to explore the breadth of opportunity latent in twenty-first century printmaking.

Main image: Vicki Mangan, By the Lake, various mulberry papers, cold wax, oil paint on board

Left image: Kate Buckley, White Raven. They tried to bury us. They didn’t know we were seeds. 2/12v, layered relief print