TIGHT FIVE – KYLA CRESSWELL
Contemporary printmaking is flourishing and the traditional intimacy of these often small scale art works is finding a new audience. Kyla Cresswell’s work is delicate, but explores heavy issues including the physical impact of the elements on our environment and the consequences of human occupation. She recently returned to her home province of Murihiku/ Southland and now lives in Dunedin.
1 - When did it click?
I think it all came together when I discovered the evocative qualities of mezzotint, especially the dark, velvety blacks I find this so compelling. I enjoy the process of burnishing and scraping a copper mezzotint plate; it is really slow and a bit like meditation, and there is plenty of time to think about the image and ‘be’ in that place.
2 - What drew you to printmaking?
Printmaking is so varied and encompasses many techniques: woodcut, intaglio methods, screen-printing, lithography, embossing… there are many ways to make marks and build up imagery. Everything in the process lends something to the resulting artwork. I see printmaking as a form of communication and I hope to encourage the viewer to re-evaluate the margins; to see how the scrappy matagouri on the road verge or the last remnant of bush is an important part of the larger ecological community.
3 - Printmaking is having a resurgence. What can this age-old and respected art form offer a contemporary context?
In a time where we may be feeling overly plugged in and disconnected from each other, the tactile nature of making prints with our hands is the perfect remedy. Print requires a slowing down, giving over to the steps of a process, maybe working with others in a collaborative studio—and it gives us a chance to play with multiples or create a one off. Printmaking connects us. You can pick up a plate or a block and start printing straight away, but you can spend a lifetime perfecting the process too. Ideas spark, one thing leads to another, and it all pushes the boundaries of the medium.
4 - Is there something that constantly links your work?
Tree-scapes are a constant for me. I am drawn to bringing attention to the forgotten, the overlooked. My work is often underpinned by a sense of fragility in our environment. Chasing the light, finding a sense of place—the raw drawn marks and energy of a drypoint, the intensity and contrast of a mezzotint. I like to work small to focus the viewer’s attention and draw them close. Some works explore the displacement of endemic species by dominant exotic plants such as in ‘Elsewhere - Hillside I, II and III’.
5 - What’s your dream project?
A residency in nature, maybe even the snow, followed by an intensive printing session in an awesome studio where I can try lots of new techniques and take lots of risks with technicians on hand for advice! Followed by an exhibition where I have pushed out of the frame and been able to transform a space. It would also be fun to work on a collaborative project, and to do some lithography again.
