Whereabouts _{by Alessia Belsito-Riera}

(noun)

The place where someone or something is.

Depicting real or imagined places in built or natural environments, the 56 artists exhibiting in Whereabouts respond to the word in any way that resonates with them, exploring concepts relating to memory, history, and family.

Visiting Solander Gallery until the 4^th of May, Whereabouts comes to New Zealand from the Art Gallery of Ballarat to provide a glimpse into contemporary printmaking around Victoria, Australia. Each of the participating creatives were invited to produce a new print on standard-sized paper in the medium of their choice.

“Printmaking is a field of specialisations, and it takes particular types of personalities to pursue any aspect of it in depth. There especially has to be a willingness to amalgamate with process,” curator Rona Green says. “Printmaking as a medium is expansive, there are a multitude of techniques available to delve into.”

The artists could choose to approach the theme from whatever angle they wished, Green adds – literally, metaphorically, symbolically, poetically, or conceptually – and through any form, whether figuratively, representationally, expressionistically, impressionistically, or abstractly.

“The resultant prints manifest thoughts on whereabouts from many perspectives including depictions of actual environments, characterisations of people or a person in particular, a locale, reflections upon interior condition, a feeling about a situation, and more,” she continues. “The outcome showcases the scope of possibilities that printmaking offers the artist as well as highlighting that all things print are alive and thriving.”