Intaglio Printmaker Prize Winner: Leonie Bradley

Tell us about the inspiration behind this print.

I started this series just over a year ago (wood engraving is very slow!), when Chat GPT launched and suddenly lots of people were talking about how AI would take over. I wanted to see how I could use it as a tool and play around with it, instead of fearing it. I repeatedly inputted the title of Thomas Bewick’s famous book “A History of Quadrupeds” into an AI-art generator and then interpreted the output. At that point, the AI was creating animals with three legs and two heads. Since then, AI-art generators have markedly improved and my series documents this time of rapid technological advancement.

What made you get into printmaking? 

I was really lucky: my mum is a well-known printmaker and I learned wood engraving as a child so it’s like drawing for me. A few years ago, I did a masters in multi-disciplinary printmaking, which made my practice much more experimental.

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

My works tend to be different, as I work in whatever medium I think best expresses an idea. Wood engraving is definitely my go-to, though I work across installation, animation, artist’s books and writing, incorporating lots of different printmaking techniques.

What would be on your ultimate Intaglio Printmaker wish list? 

A pack of Hahnemühle etching paper. I love this paper… the possibilities are endless.

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

I want to be totally immersed and taken out of myself. I saw a piece of performance art by Emma Gregory last weekend: she screen printed a meal for everyone onto a table cloth. Then Emma asked the audience to lift it over her head and she wore like a skirt. I was completely absorbed for the duration, it was so unexpected and I left feeling excited and inspired.