#In Conversation With: Prue MacDougall News

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In Conversation With: Prue MacDougall

This ‘In Conversation With’ comes courtesy of IMPRINT Magazine, who interviewed Prue as a part of their ‘PCA Member Q&A’ series. We love seeing our artists featured in such reputable publications and are especially thrilled that one of our new international artists is receiving acclaim here in Australia. A big thank you to IMPRINT, who have always been wonderful in supporting artists from the PJP stable, and an additional thank you for allowing us to republish this interview.

                            PCA Member Q&A Series: Prue MacDougall

November 17, 2015

  Why do you make art?

Creating for me is a form of meditation: it blocks out the world, it helps me express my personal thoughts and feelings. Through art I can tell stories, create illusion and perform magic.

What’s your relationship to printmaking?

I have studied, taught and practiced printmaking for the past thirty years.

How did you get interested in printmaking?

My addiction to printmaking started at an early age. I have always enjoyed working with paper. As a child I collected things like stamps, bus tickets, cigar collars and Victorian swops [or ‘Victorian scraps’ for scrapbooking], which I would then use to create surreal collages. At secondary school art was my favourite subject. I always drew and made things outside of class time. The collage process is still an integral part of my work practice. After completing my BFA in printmaking it seemed a natural extension to become an art teacher.

Who is your favourite artist?

Francisco de Goya and more recently Paula Rego and William Kentridge.

What is your favourite artwork?

At the Museo del Prado I saw a fantastic exhibition of Goya’s etchings. To list a few here: Bravissimo! (depicts a monkey playing a guitar), Hasta su Abuelo (a donkey dressed in a suit), Miren que Graves! (bestial characters – one with a bird head and human body) … all works conveying dark social commentary. Paula Rego’s Goosey-goosey Gander features female headed geese, Ladybird, Ladybird has women dancing with insects. Picasso’s The Vollard Suite prints consists of 100 wonderfully drawn etchings, which incorporate amazing experimentation with the print process. Recently I went to a Séraphine Pick painting exhibition and fell in love with the work on display. The intermediate step in the development of her work relies heavily on images garnered from social media sites, which are then repurposed for her final images.

Where do you go for inspiration?

When I travel I purposefully go to any Natural History Museums I can find. In London the Horniman Museum is a favourite. I love any display that has ‘cabinets of curiosities’ or ‘wonder rooms’, which house small collections of extraordinary objects. They are like small museums in their own right. Like Séraphine Pick, I find internet sites an invaluable resource.

What are you working on now?  

I have been one of the coordinators of Thinking of Place, a collaborative venture between Australian and New Zealand based printmakers. Most of the works incorporate traditional printmaking techniques such as woodblock and etching. The travelling exhibition has recently shown at Depot Artspace, Auckland, NZ, and next year will show at KickArts Contemporary Arts, Cairns, AU, 11 January – 20 February 2016 and the Post Office Gallery, Federation University, Ballarat, AU, 6 April – 21 May 2016.

I am part of the Aotearoa SGCI Themed Portfolio collaboration which I will be taking to the Southern Graphic Council International Conference Flux: The Edge of yesterday and Tomorrow in Portland, Oregon USA, 30 March – 2 April 2016.

I am also currently working towards a solo show in Wellington NZ and various selected group exhibitions in 2016. My website needs work!

  In Conversation With: Prue MacDougall