Artist Studios - 11

Visiting the Antarctic as a recipient of the Antarctic Arts Fellowship in the summer of 2001-02, had a huge impact on Christchurch printmaker, Dee (Denise) Copland - the extraordinary atmospheric effects, the illusions and the dynamic environment presented her with many challenges – real and imagined – and she was taken completely out of her comfort zone. That was a good thing; and her icy adventure triggered a wealth of new work over the next seven years – five Antarctic-themed exhibitions thus far and more to come. “The underlying concern in my work questions the balances and tensions between Nature, Humanity and Culture. In the Antarctic, the physical extremes provoked some interesting ideas and new ways of working and responding to chance and change,” she says. “Standing where Sir Ernest Shackleton stood to gain insights into what he and his team faced; making drawings and notes about the physical marks that remain; comprehending the sense of vastness and space – all that has changed the way I work. It’s pushed me out of two dimensions and into thinking and working in three dimensions, with fewer editions and more one-off works.” Dee, who has been exhibiting her prints nationally and internationally for thirty years, has recently exhibited in “Melt” in Melbourne and the same group show opens in Sydney in February 2009. She’s also working towards a solo survey show at SOFA Gallery in Christchurch in April. She works from her Christchurch studio – a private haven and storehouse of ideas filled with artworks, banners, bones, bushes, bird cages, posters, materials, little treasures from friends and quirky collectibles that strike a chord with her personal concerns and observations.

To see others in this Series click on Artist Studios in the label line below this post.