Author Archives: marionwassenaar

Fiji residency

Lancaster Press creates an environment that nurtures the artist through unwavering support, passion and a belief in the importance of artists in our society.”

A week long residency with colleagues from the Print Studio at Dunedin School of Art, we had the opportunity to engage in a 3-day plate lithography workshop led by Peter Lancaster in his slick and efficient litho studio. The swimming pool right outside the studio was a welcome refresher throughout the day as we delighted in the unaccustomed heat (Dunedin NZ has much cooler temperatures). Lancaster Press is located on the southern ‘Coral Coast’ about 1 hour’s drive south of Nadi.

The residency offered an opportunity to reset, reflect, and reinvigorate current and developing projects. 

We are grateful for the opportunities and experiences in this paradise. Bula vinaka!

NZPPA2024

I was honoured to be selected as a finalist for the NZ Painting & Printmaking Awards 2024 by guest judges Marian Maguire and Kura Te Waru-Rewiri. The awards and exhibition were run by the Waikato Society of Arts and held at artspost galleries, Kirikiriroa Hamilton.

The work, Idyll / Idle, a seven colour screenprint on found vintage wallpaper, incorporates port activity from my local Port Chalmers during the busy cruise ship season. There were two cruise ships in Port that day but by the time I got there one had already sailed to be replaced by the container boat. The work also includes experimentation with Photoshop AI generation to incorporate refugee boats in the lower repeat of the wallpaper. The AI generation took into account the existing background style and helped me understand and be informed on the impact and power AI can have in image manipulation.

Idyll / Idle (detail), 2024, seven colour screenprint on found vintage wallpaper

VI International Mini Print Cantabria

It was wonderful to be involved in this mini print exhibition again, having taken part in the first one in 2018. This year there were 329 artists from 50 countries in the exhibition. Congratulations to SM Pro Art Circle and the judges for the tremendous work and organisation in bringing this exhibition to fruition. Congratulations to all the artists involved and to the winners, well done! I was thrilled to get a 3rd mention for my work Waipapa Point I.

Hold Dear

Hold Dear is a group exhibition with friends and colleagues from the Print Studio DSA and held as a virtual exhibition for the Impact 12 Print Conference in Bristol, UK, 21-25 September 2022.

Each producing separate works, we then spent a weekend on Quarantine Island / Kamau Taurua, Ōtepoti, Dunedin, NZ to film the works for the virtual exhibition.

Kiri Mitchell, Is this seat taken, 2022, screenprint & drawing for paper stop motion film

Lynn Taylor, Graze, 2022, laser cut MDF for frottage, roller prints on Abaca paper, paper boats, digital prints

Marion Wassenaar, lifelines, 2022, laser and hand cut MDF woodcuts, handprinted on emergency blankets

lifelines installed in the historic married quarters building

Images in the slide show above are screen shots from the video footage used to produce the 3 minute video of the combined works. Below are film stills from the final production.

Parkin Drawing Prize 2021

I was very excited to receive a Merit Award in the 2021 Parkin Drawing Prize.

Congratulations to Mark Braunias on his tremendous win.

 Mark Braunias’ winning work “In Search of the Saccharine Underground” in the right foreground

My thanks to the judge and selection panel, and to the curator and team at the NZ Academy of Fine Arts.

Installation view

Diamond Mine

Exhibition at RDS Gallery 19 March – 10 April 2021

I had the wonderful opportunity to exhibit my works at RDS Gallery. Thanks to Hilary Radner for having me, to Bridie Lonie and Hilary for the essays in the catalogue, to Chris Collins from Gray’s Studio for the beautiful, albeit challenging framing (charcoal works are never easy) and to Phillip Madill for help with the install.

Thanks too to Robyn Maree Pickens for the ODT review.

The install is complete. RDS Gallery opposite Ōtepoti Dunedin’s iconic railway station.

Meanwhile, my experimentation with, and love of, the carbonization process continues…..

The Complete Entanglement of Everything

A group exhibition coinciding with the symposium Mapping the Anthropocene. Exhibition dates: 28 September ― 2 October, 2020 at the Dunedin School of Art, Ōtepoti Dunedin

Exhibition Curatorial Group: Bridie Lonie, Pam McKinlay, Marion Wassenaar. Exhibition catalogue can be viewed here

Image credit: Marion Wassenaar, Long Beach, 2020

Included in the exhibition were screenprinted multiples titled 1/1200 (after Duchamp) Take 3. These were posted up on the entrance ways to the school.

Marion Wassenaar 1/1200 (after Duchamp) Take 3, 2020, screenprint on paper

During the symposium my screenprinted paper towel intervention in the public toilets.

Marion Wassenaar Yeah Noah, 2020, screenprint on paper towel

Otakou Press Artist in Residence

To celebrate the 150 year anniversary of the University of Otago in 2019, Otakou Press connected with Lynn Jenner who compiled a number of letters to the editor of the Otago Daily Times written by Charles Brasch. As a significant figure associated with the University, Brasch’s letters raised many concerns, among them the architecture of the University’s buildings and the looming proposal for construction of the Aramoana aluminium smelter.

The letterpress publication was set and printed by Dr John Holmes and included relief printed illustrations in an edition of 100 copies. See the University article here, the ODT article here and a Dunedin City of Literature article here.

Printing 100 copies for publication
Working with Dr John Holmes, passionate letterpress printer