Bill Platz

Grey Hand Press assisted Bill Platz in the production of his artist book series Blue Stage: Kinked Puppets for the PIVOT II exhibition at Onespace Gallery in Brisbane. A drypoint matrix was made with carbon fibre, and five states were printedon blue stained Hosho paper. The full suite of prints was produced in one day with each state being drawn in character by Bill before being handed back to Chris and Isabelle for printing. The finished prints were hand-coloured and made into book forms by the artist using wood, flocking, felt and thread. Blue Stage: Kinked Puppets can be viewed and purchased via Onespace Gallery.

The pivotal metaphor is used by Bill Platz in an ongoing artistic investigation of drawing based on distancing the artist’s hand by manipulating large parasitic hybrid puppets. Another childhood reference, this time to the Dr Dolittle series, is evident in his group of Blue Stage: Kinked Puppets. Platz hybridises the “pushmi-pullyu” into a (similarly double-headed) classical centaur motif, but it also echoes the area between two and three dimensions. Rich blue colour and expressive drawings are contained in an ornate frame, with a central bend like a book/frame hybrid. Platz writes, “These are all ‘hinged’ creatures—to extend the metaphor of the pivot … between the image and object, the frame and the book, and the puppet and puppeteer”. In their playfully stepped platforms, the “frames” around these pupped images also evoke an altar, ironically elevating artwork to iconographic status.

Images 1-3: Louis Lim. Courtesy of the artist and Onespace Gallery.

Nameer Davis

Brisbane-based painter, sculptor and installation artist Nameer Davis worked with Grey Hand Press to produce a 6-layer multimedia print, which was displayed at the Brisbane Institute of Art, Windsor. Lampedusa comprises lithography, drypoint, two monotype layers, and two layers of linocut relief.

Nameer also produced a scroll book, incorporating the Lampedusa print, collaged text, fabric and timber. The Lampedusa book was displayed at the abbe 2020 artist book fair at the Queensland State Library.

It’s a scene described in Emma Jane Kirby’s 2016 book The Optician Of Lampedusa, an Italian navy diver enters a migrant boat sinking in the waters of the Mediterranean:… You see, they were all holding hands. There had been a young woman, the diver said, dressed in a very white shirt and black trousers who was jammed against the cabin stairwell, blocking the door. When his buddy had yanked her arm to free the body, she had concertinaed and then sprung back, bringing with her a string of other bodies all joined at the hands. It was as if they’d become one giant singular entity, the diver said. Like a Christmas paper chain.

— Nameer Davis, 2020

Peter Breen

Peter Breen is a Brisbane-based artist and co-founder of Jugglers Art Space — a vibrant community arts organisation that operated out of Brunswick St, Fortitude Valley for 21 years. In his work, Peter is drawn to reflections on culture, community and the deteriorating effect of global warming and climate change. Grey Hand Press worked with Peter to produce a series of linocuts for his exhibition All the bees are [not] dying shown at Mayne Line gallery, Albion.

Linocuts were printed in red and black onto ageing encyclopaedia paper, butter paper and drawing paper.

Sunday Lane

Based on Brisbane’s northside, Sunday Lane is a store and studio born out of love and wild dreams, brought to life by Caitlyn Everett. The Sunday Lane brand was originally a personal project which has organically grown into an entire online collection of both print and product that are stocked in over 30 stores across Australia.

Caitlyn worked with Grey Hand Press to produce twelve editions of hand printed linocuts on handmade paper for her new series, Vera.

Vera Chapter 01

An ode to the celestial woman, each original print from our Vera collection has been lovingly illustrated by us, in our Brisbane studio, then carved from lino in collaboration with Grey Hand Press. Printed to Japanese Kitakata paper, using ink and pressure, each impression is an original signed piece.