2024 Updates

Hello, all-

It’s been a good while since we used this part of the site. Frankly, we’ve been spread pretty thin between the studio, fellowship activities (the core of which are now concluded but efforts continue), a lot of outside work, moving residence only a year since the last… etc. Change is in the wind everywhere. We’re thankful of what’s going right and doing our best to work on what isn’t.

Our studio space has gone though many phases, playing host to workshops, dye sessions, extreme oversize print assemblage, light metalwork, electronics repair, and more. We've been looking at ways to better use and share it for a long time. One option we would like to explore is taking expressions of interest to sub-let part or all of our mezzanine, preferably to a synergistic venture such as a private artist or collective, framer, conservator, light woodworker, etc. This could also mean a long-term residency model including printing collaborations with the studio.

Options include a blank space of variable size or to share use of our existing infrastructure and tools. This would include use of domestic facilities and options for pressroom access.

If a secure toehold in Northgate is of interest, please reach out and we'll talk details.

That said, we’ve long explored the idea of finding a shared space closer to the city centre to improve accessibility and visibility and are open to such opportunities if anything comes up!

Keep well, all-

15 October 2022 Open House

We’ll be running an open house to feature “Lampedusa” by Nameer Davis. Nameer is currently scheduled to be in town working on a new intaglio projects with us — what better time to talk through how this richly-constructed six-run itho/monotype/intaglio/relief print came together, with all the ephemera of its making, and the experimental book featured at the 2020 abbe Book Fair?

More details on our Instagram.
Hope to see you there!

Introducing Dylan Sarra

We are excited to announce our latest publishing project with Taribelang artist, Dylan Sarra

** Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander readers are advised that this post may contain the images , names and voices of people who have died.

Dylan Sarra working on Tale of Three Boomerangs

Dylan Sarra working on Tale of Three Boomerangs

Currently residing in Brisbane, Dylan Sarra is originally from Bundaberg and belongs to the Taribelang people of Central Queensland. The body of work that Dylan is creating with Grey Hand Press explores his cultural ties to his home, and more specifically refers to artefacts from the Bundaberg region that hold personal and cultural significance to Dylan’s family and his indigenous heritage.

In 1972, approximately 92 blocks of engraved sandstone were removed from an aboriginal art site at the confluence of the Burnett River and Pine Creek, just 30km west of the town of Bundaberg. The engraved motifs included animal and human tracks and geometrical designs executed in a variety of techniques and designs. These carvings were removed by the Queensland state government under the Aboriginal Relics Preservation Act 1967 to mitigate the effects of flooding on the site, and these relics were subsequently scattered across southeast Queensland to universities, Aboriginal communities, local historical societies and government instrumentalities with no provision made for continuing preservation or protection.

Sandstone carvings from the Burnett River and Pine Creek art site. Image courtesy Dylan Sarra

Sandstone carvings from the Burnett River and Pine Creek art site. Image courtesy Dylan Sarra

Video courtesy of the Queensland State Archives. Video showing a group of men uncovering and working to safely move the Aboriginal rock carvings found near Burnett River in 1972

John Broom, Dylan’s great, great grandfather. Image courtesy Dylan Sarra

John Broom, Dylan’s great, great grandfather. Image courtesy Dylan Sarra

The imagery of three boomerangs references Dylan’s great, great grandfather, John Broom — an initiated man of the Taribelang Bunda people, the place and people for which the city of Bundaberg is named for. John Broom had the image of three boomerangs carved onto his chest, which bore striking resemblance to the rock carvings present in the removed sandstone relics from the Burnett River.

During the production of The Tale of Three Boomerangs, Dylan traveled north to Bundaberg and had three boomerangs custom made from foraged spotted gum timber. The timber was textured and manipulated, before being inked and printed as a wood intaglio.

 Dylan has also produced three lithographs with Grey Hand Press, which feature portraits of young Aboriginal people.

The portraits were inspired by Picasso’s method of line drawings and the way he captured subject and movement in the simplicity of form. I’ve started to develop that idea further in my own practice by developing a series of portraits that portray indigenous youth. By focusing certain features and keeping the line work minimal, it has allowed me to capture a picture of youth and identify a culture of our Aboriginal people.

Each portrait is limited to an edition of ten and five collector’s boxed suites (available upon series completion), printed on Japanese Kitikata Select.

Detail: Spotted gum boomerangs in progress

Detail: Spotted gum boomerangs in progress

Dylan Sarra Portrait II (2019). 43 x 52cm. Lithograph on Kitikata Select. Image: Grey Hand Press

Dylan Sarra Portrait II (2019). 43 x 52cm. Lithograph on Kitikata Select. Image: Grey Hand Press

The Tale of Three Boomerangs is the first in the series of Boomerang prints by Dylan, and we anticipate more iterations to come in the coming months, along with another body of work based around artefacts from the Bundaberg region. We are currently accepting orders for the portrait lithographs, and The Tale of Three Boomerangs , which is limited to an edition of five only. Contact us at info[at]greyhandpress.com for information about ordering.

This artwork is a reflection of [my] ongoing journey in continuing to connect the stories of my place, and share them with the wider community

– Dylan Sarra, 2019.

2018 Year End Update

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Happy New Year!

We are writing from the woods of northern Wisconsin, visiting the regional snowy lakes, print studios, and galleries on an overdue holiday. However, we are thrilled to announce our new studio permanent location, with opening hours commencing February 2019. Located within Northgate Workstores opposite the Golden Circle Cannery at the corner of Earnshaw and Crockford, this studio will facilitate the bulk of our publishing and contract printing, while allowing us to finally hold workshops on-site. Our educational program for the year will be posted in the following weeks, including short- and long-form classes (especially in lithography). We are pleased to share that we will host guest instructors in areas such as bookbinding and tool sharpening. Our offerings through Work-Shop Brisbane and other venues continue, with new locations in development.

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We would like to extend our thanks to Butterfield Projects and Husband Architects for helping us make Crockford St our permanent home, with the ongoing support of family and friends encouraging our progress. See you in 2019!

CH & CH

CH & CH

2018 Mid-Year Update

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In July of 2017, our studio moved to a serviceable shed in Ashgrove, which we intended to outfit for publishing and workshops with the arrival of our litho press. However, barely a month into residence, we were approached with an offer we couldn't refuse on a future site in Northgate opposite the old Golden Circle Cannery. With temperatures high enough to overflow ink cans and our limited parking, we paused our publishing activities and focused on education, using the Ashgrove site as our workshop preparation hub until the new space was completed... after the long wait, we are pleased to announce that we will move in this October!

The shell is nearly complete and outfitting soon follow. We look forward to welcoming visitors with weekly open hours, launching our litho education program, and resuming full publishing activities. Keep watching the blog and our Instagram for updates on construction and what we are up to... Thanks as always to our family, friends, contributors, colleagues, and students.

CH & CH

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