Ben Fennessy

Squallorama 2023
monoprints on glass plates and Upo paper; A/P
Courtesy of the artist

Artist statement:

Squallorama is a view of Tower Hill/Koroitj during a downpour that moved across the caldera at sunset.

Three layers of monoprints capture this dramatic landscape. The background is on Upo paper from a glass plate; the middle print is that glass plate with another Upo paper image rolled onto the pane; the front print is on the rear of more glass and includes some hand-colouring and scratch marks.

As a child, I was fascinated by dioramas at the Melbourne Museum (now the State Library). My first year at the National Gallery School was in the basement of the Museum. I had access to these magical three-dimensional displays again. Last year, I saw 17th Century examples of images printed on glass layers at the Rijksmuseum and was inspired to make these squall prints on sheets of glass so they could be transparent and 3D.