University lecturer speaks at International Printmaking Symposium

Catriona Leahy, Lecturer in Printmaking, was one of 15 speakers invited to talk at SNAP 2015, the third International Printmaking Symposium in Germany, which took place from 12 to 15 November.

The four-day symposium was held in partnership with the Cultural Institution Kloster Bentlage gGmbH in Germany and the AKI ArtEZ Institute of the Arts in the Netherlands.

Catriona was invited by Knut Willich, Chairman for the Print Association Bentlage and organiser of SNAP 2015 to present her research; ‘Relief in Time | Time in Relief: Expanded Printmaking as a Conduit for Temporal Dissonance and The Anachronistic.’

The symposium examined questions concerning the subject Kunstraum Druckgrafik: Printmaking in Other Forms of Art. It specifically addressed how various modes of expression in contemporary printmaking combine or overlap with other art disciplines, such as sculpture, painting, installation, film, drawing, and performance. It also illustrated the increasing significance of the interaction of printmaking with other areas of art in fine art educational institutions in Europe and elsewhere.

Catriona’s presentation provides the framework for her practice and solo exhibition “Relief in Time”, which was on display before and during the symposium at the Rijksmuseum Twenthe in Enschede, The Netherlands.

She also took part in the group exhibition “Statements” at Kloster-Bentlage, Germany, which showcased work by all invited delegates to SNAP 2015.

Catriona commented: “It is important not to underestimate the impact of events such as these not only in terms of disseminating staff research within an international context, but of how that feedback and influence transmits to our students.

“For creative subject areas such as Fine Art, it reinforces the importance of not only the conference itself with its research contributors, but also the importance of practice in the form of exhibition, as a valid and influential means of research dissemination.

“This event brought together academics, practitioners, museum directors, critics, writers and curators, to comment on and challenge the multifarious critical positions printmaking finds itself in today. In doing so, it serves to reappraise and re-establish the significance of printmaking within contemporary art practice and theory.”