Experimenting with Print: Zineb Sedira in DCA Print Studio
Exhibiting artist Zineb Sedira returns to DCA
Artist Zineb Sedira's solo exhibition, Can't You See the Sea Changing?, ran in our galleries from Sat 29 April to Sun 6 August 2023. Developed in collaboration with De La Warr Pavilion, Bexhill-on-Sea, it was her first project in UK public galleries for 12 years. The exhibition spanned a period from 2008 to the present day, bringing together photography, installation, film and archival material.
Sedira said of her exhibition:
It's an exhibition which is looking at the sea, the sea in my practice, and I'm always interested in recontextulising that space of the sea.... I realised that even in my studio I had collected and put in my studio a lot of ephemera from the sea. Some were from the sixties and some were more recent. But the books that I was reading were on the sea, the photographs I was collecting, the postcards, the objects... And then we decided to bring my studio into the exhibition. I thought it will be interesting for people to see and have an insight of my thinking processes and the way I create work using all these objects that I collect."
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Exhibition images
In July, Sedira returned to DCA to spend some time in our Print Studio. This week-long residency gave her the opportunity to experiment with different processes and equipment, with our knowledgable staff on hand to offer advice and help. She said:
I wanted to take a break from my moving image practice and try out a new medium: printmaking. I had never used it before, so was curious about its creative possibilities.
Sedira brought with her a case of old film and photographic negatives, which she used as a starting point for a variety of different experiments. She often uses analog film and text/slogans in her practice and the addition of print allowed her to extend these ideas and use them in different ways.
Working with Print Studio Coordinators Claire McVinnie and Marianne Wilson, Sedira used some of her found images to create screenprints. She also worked with adding text, turning letterpress blocks into a screen which was then used to print text in bright green ink.
Other experiments were done using the laser cutter to create wooden film strips. These were then used to emboss the paper of a text-based print. Each process was tried and refined to find the desired result, with some happy discoveries occurring along the way.
The team really enjoyed welcoming Sedira into the studio and helping her to experiment with different printmaking processes. When asked what she enjoyed most about her time in the studio, Sedira said:
Playing around, trying out different techniques and ideas with no final deadline or having to finalise an artwork.
We captured footage of this process of playing while Sedira worked in the studio. Take a look at our film below...
About the artist
Zineb Sedira (born 1963, Paris), lives in London and works between Algeria, Paris, and London. Recent solo exhibitions include Bildmuseet (Umeå, Sweden, 2021), SMoCA (Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art) (US, 2021), Jeu de Paume (Paris, 2019), IVAM‑Institut Valencià d’Art Modern (Spain, 2019), Beirut Art Center (Lebanon, 2018), Sharjah Art Foundation Art Spaces (UAE, 2018), Art On the Underground (London, 2016). She has previously shown in institutions such as Tate Britain, Centre Pompidou, Mori Museum, Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art, Musée d’Art Moderne of Algiers, Brooklyn Museum, Mathaf – Arab Museum of Modern Art, Gwangju Museum of Art, and MMK Museum für Mordern Kunst, as well as in biennials and triennials, including the Venice Biennale (2001 and 2011), the Triennial for photography and video at the Institute of Contemporary Photography in New York (2003), the Sharjah Biennale (2003 and 2007), the Folkestone Triennial (2011), New Orleans’ international art exhibition (2017) and the Liverpool Biennial (2021).
Sedira represented France at the 59th International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia (2022) and was awarded a special mention for her exhibition titled Dreams Have No Titles.
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