Promontory

Barbara BRASH
Australian 1925–1998

Promontory c. 1967
thermograph and colour screenprint; edition of 18     
Geelong Gallery
Gift of Moira Eckel through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program, 2017
© the estate of the artist

Texture was an important tool for Brash, who sought to combat the inherent flatness of the screenprint method through both visual and material means.

In Promontory, variety is created by both the layering of tonal values in the form of intense gestural sweeps and a mottled watercolour effect, extending to the removal of the image, with ink scraped back during the second last application in the creation process. Promontory is an early example of Brash’s adventurous combination of thermography with the screenprint method. Thermography is a process in which wet ink is dusted with a fine resin powder and exposed to heat. The resin and ink fuse together, raising the areas where the resin has coated. Glossy, protective surfaces emerge, adding further interest to the consistency of this work.