Not Born Digital a folio of prints by Goldfields Printmakers, Victoria, Australia presented by Jimmy...
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Not Born Digital a folio of prints by Goldfields Printmakers, Victoria, Australia presented by Jimmy Pasakos, Federation University, Ballarat, Victoria IMPACT 9: International Printmaking Conference Printmaking in the Post-Print Age China Academy of Art, Hangzhou September 22-26, 2016
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Transcript of Not Born Digital a folio of prints by Goldfields Printmakers, Victoria, Australia presented by Jimmy...
Not Born Digitala folio of prints by Goldfields Printmakers,
Victoria, Australia
presented by Jimmy Pasakos, Federation University, Ballarat, Victoria
IMPACT 9: International Printmaking ConferencePrintmaking in the Post-Print AgeChina Academy of Art, Hangzhou
September 22-26, 2016
Goldfields Printmakers
http://www.goldfieldsprintmakers.com/
Goldfields Printmakers is a website for Printmakers who produce works predominantly in the form of print and base their practice in the Goldfields region.For further information on this site please contact Jimmy Pasakos,
Arts Academy, Federation University Australia. [email protected]
Anne Langdon
My prints are a reflection of my research of the Smythesdale goldfields in relation to Chinese miners.The main information available was written usually as lists but this provided me with a general feelingof the miners as well as the Smythesdale streetscape photographs taken in 1858 and 1868 which were valuable visuals.
I also had access to a map of the Ballarat goldfields incorporating the Smythesdale region.
I used the drypoint printing technique but was able to experiment with transfer printing on to material and then hand stitching the transfer print.
Anne Langdon, Chinese Miners, Smythesdale, 1858, Drypoint on paper, transfer print & embroidery on fabric, 20 x 30 cm
Anne Langdon, Wild Geese Calling, Drypoint, 20 x 30 cm
Catherine Pilgrim
Castlemaine has incredible remnants of the once large proportion of Chinese population. Details of a history of cultural influence can be seen in various public and private museum collections. I have worked with elements of the collection from Buda Historic Home and Garden, once home to Hungarian Silversmith Ernest Leviny. The Leviny family showed much curiosity and intelligence regarding the world around them, and moments of Chinese culture are found in various rooms of the house. I have used layering and abstraction of imagery to suggest the complexity of what is now an indefinite view of their understanding of Chinese culture.
Catherine Pilgrim, Remnant 1, Digital print on Hahnemuehle Photo Rag, 25.5 x 20.5 cm
Catherine Pilgrim, Remnant 2, Digital print on Hahnemuehle Photo Rag, 25.5 x 20.5 cm
Deborah Klein
There were virtually no Chinese women on the Australian Goldfields. For thousands of Chinese men who flocked there, separation from their families was a cause of deep sadness.
At the height of the gold rush, there were almost 3000 Chinese immigrants in the Victorian Goldfields town of Newstead alone. The forest floor is still pockmarked with holes, enduring evidence of its gold mining history.
The Eucalyptus leaves pictured in these works were originally sourced in Newstead. The silhouettes they bear are emblematic of the women the Chinese miners were forced to abandon, and in some cases would never see again.
Deborah Klein, Memory #1, Digital, 29.5 x 22.5 cm
Deborah Klein, Memory #2, Digital, 29.5 x 19.5 cm
Diana Orinda Burns
These prints seek to explore the rich history and remarkable legacy of the Chinese miners who came to Victoria during the gold rush.
The fan shape has been used symbolically, as an expression of good luck, generosity and as an "emissary” for Chinese culture, contrasting strongly with the harsh conditions that existed.
“between worlds” investigates the Chinese miners belief as seeing themselves as sojourners – working to send home money to their families.
“celestial bodies” relates to funds established by the Chinese to support the exhumation of graves to return individuals to their home villages for final burial with their ancestors.
Diana Orinda Burns, between worlds, Unique state monoprint, 29.7 X 42.0 cm
Diana Orinda Burns, celestial bodies, Unique state monoprint, 29.7 X 42.0 cm
Dianne Longley
In China the cherry blossom is understood to be a representation of feminine beauty and power; but mothers and wives and sisters could not prevent their sons, husbands and brothers from taking the perilous journey to Australia where they wanted to find gold and bring wealth home to their families.
It was a difficult life in Australia, and many died, and their friends whenever possible took their bones back to rest in peace in their home country. My prints each show a branch of cherry blossom, and eight (a number symbolising good fortune in China) golden flowers, which have floated away. Death was commonplace and a peaceful journey home a fortunate occurrence.
Dianne Longley, Death by Gold, Intaglio, silk chine collé, gampi chine collé, gold leaf & hand-colouring, 21 x 29.5 cm
Dianne Longley, Passage Home, Intaglio, silk chine collé, gampi chine collé, gold leaf & hand-colouring, 21 x 29.5 cm
Jackie Gorring
Chinese were often referred to as "celestial beings" in the goldfields. My works reflect the harshness the Chinese encountered in the goldfields the back breaking work the dreams they must have dreamt.
Jackie Gorring, Celestial Workmen, Relief print from card with oil pastel and oil stick on rice paper, 42 x 30 cm
Jackie Gorring, Celestial Paradise, Relief print from card with oil pastel and oil stick on rice paper, 30 x 42 cm
Jan Palethorpe
Reflecting on two ancient cultures present and living in parallel during the gold rush in Australia – The Aboriginal and Chinese - people who together though apart, shared alienation and horrific maltreatment by those in authority.
Jan Palethorpe, A Time of Danger/A time of Opportunity, Lino print/etching/embossing/chine collé/rubber stamps, 42 x 30 cm
Jan Palethorpe, A Time of Danger/A time of Opportunity, Lino print/etching/embossing/chine collé/rubber stamps, 42 x 30 cm
Janette Wotherspoon
I857 Chinese, they walked from Robe. No longer welcome in Victoria, dumped on a distant shore to find their way to the goldfields. Their journey was hard, their future unknown but it was gold they were looking for and gold found in a stream, it was Canton Lead.
Their gold claims were fruitful, their businesses thrived but the English ruled. The regulations extreme, their safety threatened, still they worked hard. Printed in history, their roots wrapped in gold, striving to return home. Some never did make that journey home, stayed forever. Their history in stone, memories are found.
Janette Wotherspoon, Digital print, 22 x 23 cm
Janette Wotherspoon, Digital print and linoprint, 22 x 30 cm
James Pasakos
In the mid 1800’s many and varied cultures from far and wide arrived in Australia to mine for gold and prosper. An important area for Australia was the Goldfields – Central Victoria. One of these cultures was the Chinese. With their travels they brought their stories, religious beliefs and their way of living.
The two prints display the mapping of the Goldfields where the Chinese populated. Their stories are scattered over the landscape. Symbolically the two prints present the Chinese Zodiac over the Goldfields map, they represent their past stories that are embedded in the history of the area.
James Pasakos, Retrospect, Goldfields I, Dual plate, drypoint, 21 x 29 cm
James Pasakos, Retrospect, Goldfields 2, Dual plate, drypoint, 21 x 29 cm
Josephine Walsh
Occasionally, during the Victorian goldrush years, animosity existed between the diggers and the Chinese. I found this plaque, which now hangs in the Chinese Museum, Bendigo. The plaque shows the existence of respect and gratitude in some areas at that time.
Josephine Walsh, Store Plaque, Linocut, 28.6 x 15.3 cm
Josephine Walsh, Searching, Drypoint, gold chine collé, old Bendigo map, 32 x 19.8 cm
Kim Barter
The abstract nature of my work is an attempt to help the viewer feel what must have been a hostile experience for the Chinese arriving and working on the Victorian Goldfields in 1850's. They came in there thousands and travelled massive distances from their own country and across ours.However their journeys and stories were ones of hardship, poverty, bigotry and disease. Others did not accept their customs, cultural differences and their appearance.
Communication was hard as they spoke on English.
The symbols in my prints, the unintelligible calligraphy and the many marks...represent confusion, despair and disorientation. Are these fences, walking tracks, voices...?
I hope my works offer respect to them and a way into being able to talk about their journeys.
Kim Barter, Intersection, Etching, carborandum, 30 x 42 cm
Kim Barter, Diggings, Etching, carborandum, 30 x 42 cm
Leonie Auhl
Ararat, Bendigo and Castlemaine museums engaged my interest in Chinese culture and symbols; and, with additional research of local publications, the Chinese contribution during and since gold rush times has become vividly illuminated to me. New Gold Mountain 1: “We’ve golden soil ...”I grew up in Western Victoria and could imagine, in awe, the determination and endurance of the Chinese in making their journey. This work represents the 500 km trek on foot from Robe, SA , via the northern end of the Grampians and their discovery of a new and rich gold seam near Mount Ararat. Hence, the inclusion of a Chinese gold ingot symbol in the design. New Gold Mountain 2: “... and wealth for toil”There was a Chinese market garden near my childhood home; a vision of green expanse with scarcely visible paths between the rows. My father also established a lush vegetable garden, which now seems to me, could well have been modelled on Chinese ones. This connection was the source of inspiration for the image. A wealth of Chinese knowledge, skills and industry added much to the goldfields, in particular enriching otherwise meagre diets with fresh vegetables. The concentric rings of rice represent a Chinese symbol for wealth.
Leonie Auhl, New Gold Mountain 1: We’ve golden soil …, Multi-plate linocut, oil-based inks, gold acrylic paint, 25.5 x 20 cm
Leonie Auhl, New Gold Mountain 2: ... and wealth for toil, Multi-plate linocut, oil-based inks, 25.5 x 20 cm
Loris Button
The site of a rich alluvial gold field, Creswick attracted prospectors from many parts of the world during the Victorian gold rush, including those from the Pearl River Delta of Guangdong Province and the southern part of Fujian Province. The majority of Creswick’s Chinese miners lived in the Chinese camp at Black Lead. In the 1860s and 1870s the population of Black Lead numbered about 400 – dropping to roughly 60 by the mid 1890s. Today there is no sign of this once thriving community; the same location in Creswick is now a popular recreation ground known as Calambeen Park.
Loris Button, Finding Black Lead I, Unique state linoprint, monoprint & collage on kozo, chiyogami, reclaimed abaca and Schut Dutch Etching papers, 42 x 29.7 cm
Loris Button, Finding Black Lead II, unique state linoprint, monoprint & collage on kozo, chiyogami, reclaimed abaca and Schut Dutch Etching papers, 42 x 29.7 cm
Melissa Proposch
The word ‘fish’ in Chinese sounds like the word for ‘abundance’, so in China goldfish are a symbol of abundance and wealth - surely the dream of every miner on the central Victorian goldfields from the1850’s. An image in the State Library of Victoria dated around 1860 depicts Chinese miners waiting by the road in their coach, having stopped in town for supplies. Several postcards of this image exist; some with handwritten notes saying the miners are travelling to the Carisbrook diggings. A Hotel sign behind them has been identified as possibly from the Newstead Hotel that burned down years later and is now a children’s playground. I live across the road from that playground, next to the Loddon river. Part of my house includes the original bakery and large bluestone oven that was built around 1856 to serve the vast numbers of miners working on the goldfields.
Melissa Proposch, Dreaming of goldfish, Inkjet pigment on cotton rag, 42 x 29.7 cm
Melissa Proposch, Dreaming of goldfish, Inkjet pigment on cotton rag, 42 x 29.7 cm
Penny Peckham
My work has always been torn between art and literature, between making, drawing and reading, between making art and writing about it.
Penny Peckham, From the Golden Dragon Museum, Ballarat, linoblock print
Penny Peckham, From the Golden Dragon Museum, Bendigo, linoblock print
Rosemary Eagle
Deep underneath the city of Ararat a vast network of disused gold mining tunnels remain, a hidden testament to the toils of the original gold miners. Ararat's rich gold rush history was set apart by being the only town in Australia founded and developed by Chinese migrants who struck gold in 1857 with the discovery of The Canton Lead.My copper plate etchings incorporate engraving, soft and hard ground techniques, aquatint, dry point and chine colle. By overprinting multiple plates in black I have attempted to depict the depth and mystery I envisage underneath the city where I live.
Rosemary Eagle, The Canton Lead, Etching with chine collé, 15 x 20 cm
Rosemary Eagle, Commissioners’ Hill, Etching with chine collé, 15 x 20 cm
