Mirror Images exhibition comes to the North York Moors National Park

Reflections on modern European printmaking on the Moors

Artists from four countries are coming together in the inspiring surroundings of the North York Moors National Park to celebrate contemporary printmaking this month.

Mirror Images is an international exhibition featuring new and original printmaking which opens simultaneously on May 9th in venues in North Yorkshire, Finland and Sweden.

Featuring printmakers from Yorkshire, Scotland, Finland and Sweden, it reflects on printmaking from an international perspective, drawing on ideas of place, identity and the environments in which the artists live and work.

It’s the result of an international collaboration project, Connections North, between Chrysalis Arts in North Yorkshire, the North York Moors National Park, Ratamo Print and Photography Centre in Finland, Ålgården in Sweden and Highland Print Studio in Scotland.

‘This project is essentially a collaboration designed to bring artists’ work to different audiences in different countries and to celebrate the quality and diversity to be found within contemporary printmaking,’ said organiser and Chrysalis arts director Rick Faulkner.

Inspired by…gallery, based at The Moors National Park Centre, has been selected as the venue for the UK opening of Mirror Images, which will be on show until June 5th before touring three other venues.

Among the printmakers taking part are ten from North Yorkshire, including: head of art at Eton College Ian Burke, a painter/printmaker whose artwork is based on the coastline from the Tees to the Esk and the hinterland of the North Yorkshire Moors, where he lives; and Moira McTague, a painter/printmaker based in North Yorkshire, where she etches museum collections of birds, butterflies, eggs and nests.

There are a number of print-related events, workshops and talks happening across North Yorkshire throughout May. These include an exhibition of work by Scottish printmakers Elizabeth Blackadder, Barbara Rae and Phillip Reeves at Zillah Bell Gallery, Thirsk, and Pre-Pop to Post-Human: Collage in the Digital Age, a Hayward touring exhibition from the Southbank Centre, London at Crescent Arts in Scarborough.

‘We’re particularly delighted to be working with the North York Moors National Park on this project and with three centres of excellence for printmaking in Finland, Sweden and Scotland,’ said Rick. ‘Each of the four were invited to select ten artists to take part and the resulting work represents a wide spectrum of interests, approaches and techniques.

‘We hope the project will lay the foundations for further joint working and more international opportunities for North Yorkshire printmakers in the future.’ n

Mirror Images runs from May 9th to June 5th at Inspired by… gallery in The Moors National Park Centre, Danby, North Yorkshire. For more information, visit connections-north.com