Penny Brewill
My work is founded on a profound interest in toys, models and model making which stems back to a childhood of wet summers in Ireland when I was forced to entertain myself by making model villages out of Lego, Plasticine, and bits of rubbish scrounged from the bin (because I had run out of Lego). I built endless sailing boats out of scraps of wood which all sank and never quite got the hang of encouraging Airfix glue out of the tube in a slow and controlled manner.
After a process of making drawings from my imagination, taking photos as source material, and some planning and maquette building, my work manifests itself as intricate 3D print constructions, accompanied by ‘flat pack’ printed plans. Printmaking is the perfect medium for me in that the work demands bold, linear plans which are heavily bitten into steel to give fat, chunky lines with plenty of plate tone and foul biting. Screenprinted photographic details are subsequently ‘collaged’ in over areas, using very transparent washes or screaming luminous, opaque colours that only this medium can offer.
