Artworks

Jemma Gunning RE, Wern Works IV,

etching with hardground and sugarlift aquatint, edition of 30, £150

Elected ARE 2019, RE 2021

Wern Works was once home to the manufacturing of Concord aeroplane wings, now it sits abandoned and home to a colony of birds, graffiti artists, photographers, urban explorers and artists. A repurposed space that has become a shared playground for humankind and nature to reclaim just one of many industrial waste-lands. Jemma’s practice explores the themes of dereliction, urban landscapes, industrial decline and our fading heritage.  

Sugarlift is a process whereby a sugar solution is painted onto the metal plate. When the solution is dry, a hardground wax is applied. The plate is then put into a bath of hot water to lift the sugar solution. This exposes areas of metal on the plate that will become an etched mark. Finally, an aquatint is applied to the plate and etched accordingly depending on the tonal values that the artist wishes to create.

Jemma Gunning is an artist printmaker specialising in intaglio and lithographic processes.

In 2018 after graduating from University of the West of England (UWE) with an MA in Multidisciplinary Printmaking she was awarded a QEST scholarship to support a research fellowship at the City and Guilds of London Art School.  

In 2019 and 2020 she was awarded an Elizabeth Greenshield grant to support the development of her creative practice and support the setup of her print workshop.

Jemma exhibits regularly nationally and internationally, works part time as a technical print instructor at UWE and runs freelance workshops through Bristol Print Collective that she co-founded in 2016.