Transmission 80cm x 65cm, etching

Transmission above is my latest piece, completed for a Diptych exhibition in collaboration with Spike Island Printmakers. I was paired with an artist Ros ford who also works using the etching process. The image is of the Lovell telescope based a Jodrell Bank. I initially did the drawings two years ago and this was the perfect chance for me to rework the sketches and take into print.
This was also a fantastic opportunity for me to address scale and how this can effect my use of drawing and etching.The scale of the work is something I wish to explore further.
After having a conversation this year with Emma Stibbon we discussed the relevance of scale and what part it could play. I felt it was now more important with the limited time I now have to put all my time creating a larger more substantial piece of work.

Other man made forms have also influenced me. The image above 'Bridge I' was done on location  during the construction. The use of charcoal and graphite offered me a spontaneity and freedom to put down initial forms and tone that I thought best described the object.This image was also revisited with etching to emphasis the tonal qualities through the use of aquatint and burnishing.

To begin as an introduction to my practice I have attached a selection of etchings completed while on a residency at the Goonhilly satellite earth station in Helston, cornwall. For more information and images please visit my website  www.ichamberlain.co.uk. These etchings were originally sketched on location and then taken back to the studio and redrawn onto a copper plate. The etching process allowed me to re-ground the plate build up layers of information and, taking proofs on the way to see how the image was evolving. The image/plate was constantly in a state of flux and evolution.