Posterzine Project, Studio Ingot

Radiant Pavilion Naarm/Melbourne Contemporary Jewellery & Object Biennial

26 August - 2 September 2017

Curated with Sarah Stubbs

Tucked away on the ground floor of the Centre for the Arts building in nipaluna (Hobart) is the TasTAFE Letterpress Studio, an immaculately maintained space filled with finely-tuned machinery most of which are over a hundred years old. With the push or pull of a wheel these machines whirl to life in a hypnotic dance of cause and effect oscillating from plate to print. The fact that these machines are still operational is quite remarkable given their age and the profoundly global shift over decades from analogue to digital modes of communication. Many of these machines in the studio have been saved from extinction painstakingly cleaned and pieced back together over many years.

Through this printing process the page is imbued with an embossed, tactile surface. Tracing these impressions, one is made aware of the preciousness of the printed word, for this traditional method of printing takes time. It is precisely the pace, the slowing down of time, the tactile outcome, as well as the precision of the process that interests us. Viewed through our jewellers’ eye the Letterpress Studio offers an exciting opportunity to explore an alternative means of re/presenting artists and most importantly Tasmanian-based jewellery artists. Concealed in the centre fold of this booklet, the posterzine presents a glimpse into the world of jewellery practice in Tasmania told through the words of four artists - Emma Bugg, Natalie Holtsbaum, Shauna Mayben and Linda van Niekerk. With each conversation unique and nuanced accounts of place and community are revealed.