Hil Barnes
For print prices and details, email: [email protected]
In 2020 I completed a Masters degree in Printmaking at Middlesex University, I work mainly with etching, preferring monochromatic prints and stark images, influenced by the masters of the art, both historical and current.
My interest in architecture, background in photography, involvement in housing campaigns and community activism from the 1970’s to the present time are reflected in much of my work. From the destruction of serviceable buildings, as depicted in the 'Regeneration' series, through to landscapes views of the changing city, 'Time the Devourer', where modern offices tower above ancient churches and pockets of housing .
I have explored my ancestors, bringing them back to life with the help of family albums, and my own family in a series of irreverent and revealing images, 'Siblings' and 'The Family'. While I have a very specific method of working, I prefer to focus on different subjects as they present themselves with no discernable theme, and currently I am attracted to tractors.
A bit about etching
The process I use to produce my prints is not only extremely time consuming, but also requires tools, chemicals and machinery specific to this form of printmaking. Access to such materials is limited to dedicated workshops, many of which were inaccessible from 2020, except to established printmakers who had the sense to set themselves up long before retirement. In 2021 I was able to resume work and explore more processes in the workshops of the excellent Working Men's College in Camden.
To produce one print can take days or weeks. The separate stages, from scribing the image to the prepared ground, etching the plate, adding the aquatint surface, fine tuning with varnish, burnishing, endlessly proofing and repeating until finally reaching a place where the print can be considered ready, takes time. For me, every step is a pleasure.
Hil Barnes April 2023
My interest in architecture, background in photography, involvement in housing campaigns and community activism from the 1970’s to the present time are reflected in much of my work. From the destruction of serviceable buildings, as depicted in the 'Regeneration' series, through to landscapes views of the changing city, 'Time the Devourer', where modern offices tower above ancient churches and pockets of housing .
I have explored my ancestors, bringing them back to life with the help of family albums, and my own family in a series of irreverent and revealing images, 'Siblings' and 'The Family'. While I have a very specific method of working, I prefer to focus on different subjects as they present themselves with no discernable theme, and currently I am attracted to tractors.
A bit about etching
The process I use to produce my prints is not only extremely time consuming, but also requires tools, chemicals and machinery specific to this form of printmaking. Access to such materials is limited to dedicated workshops, many of which were inaccessible from 2020, except to established printmakers who had the sense to set themselves up long before retirement. In 2021 I was able to resume work and explore more processes in the workshops of the excellent Working Men's College in Camden.
To produce one print can take days or weeks. The separate stages, from scribing the image to the prepared ground, etching the plate, adding the aquatint surface, fine tuning with varnish, burnishing, endlessly proofing and repeating until finally reaching a place where the print can be considered ready, takes time. For me, every step is a pleasure.
Hil Barnes April 2023