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Intaglio Printmaker Prize Winner: Charlotte Parr-Burman

We are pleased to announce that Charlotte Parr-Burman was the recipient of our prize at the International Original Print Exhibition 2024, held at the Bankside Gallery. Charlotte’s winning print ‘Lisbon Streetworks’ was chosen for its striking, graphic composition and use of traditional, laborious technique through the method of multi-layered reduction woodcut printing. We caught up with Charlotte to find out more about her practice and the inspiration behind her process. 

Lisbon Streetworks by Charlotte Parr-Burman

Lisbon Streetworks

Reduction Woodcut

260 x 350mm

Edition of 8

Please could you tell us a bit more about the inspiration behind the work?

This work is a reduction woodcut based on a photograph I took whilst on a month residency in Lisbon in May, it depicts metal fences surrounding a hole in the pavement from ongoing construction. My intent was to capture the bright sunlight hitting the different surfaces and the chaotic criss cross of structures. Printing with green and red tones to bring a more graphic element to the print and relay a sense of intensity, whilst maintaining the tonal balance of the image.

What made you get into printmaking? 

I got into printmaking during my MA studies in Graphic Cmmunication Design at Central Saint Martins in 2023. I had been working a lot with photographic printing, testing ways to alter ‘set’ images in negatives into more complex final outcomes through analogue methods in the darkroom. I then began a method of using emulsion to transfer my negatives to plywood and carve reduction woodcut prints from these, once I started in the printmaking studio I spent the rest of my studies in there everyday! Since graduating, I have continued to work on my printmaking independently and expand my practice through art residencies. 

 Tell us about your other works – are they similar or different? Do you tend to work within one technique?

All of my works follow the above technique of photographic transfer and reduction woodcut, I have printed with a range of papeers but prefer Japanese lightweight paper in general. My more recent works are in colour – like this one – the photographic stages of my printmaking are all in B&W so working incorporating colour requires me to be more instinctual to capture the feel og the photograph from memory. So far, I am really enjoying the challenge and freedom this brings to my working process, counterbalanced by the rigid and time-consuming carving element to woodcuts.

What would be on your ultimate Intaglio Printmaker wish list?

Your range of Japanese woodcut tools…Sankakuto, Aisuki, Hangito etc. 

If you could own 1 artwork, what would it be?

Very on theme but I saw at the Tate Britain the other week “The Printer” by Sylvia Gosse and I loved that. 

 

 

Charlotte Parr-Burman - About the artist

Drawing from analogue photographic techniques, Charlotte crafts multiple-layered reductive woodcut prints, imbuing them with a unique quality reminiscent of both photographs and paintings. In her darkroom, she transfers her own 35mm photographs onto plywood, skillfully transforming them into intricate prints with multiple layers of dradually darkening black ink. Through this labor-intensive process, she infuses ordinary moments with fresh significance, navigating the balance between traditional craftmanship and artistic vision. 

Congratulations on your win, Charlotte!

Follow along with Charlotte’s work and processes with social media:

Instagram:

@charlotteparrburman

Website:

charlotteparrburman.com