Graham Riding has been a practicing Printmaker for over 40 years following his graduation from Liverpool Polytechnic in the early ’80s. Graham joined the West Yorkshire Print Workshop in 2015, where he returned to etching for the first time since leaving university, and began working on large scale plates to create his series, ‘The First Moderns’.
“In October 2021 I visited North Berwick and became fascinated with the Bass Rock, a looming, white, volcanic lump of a rock, home to thousands of seabirds and a place of history and mystery. As I walked the coastline, drawing its there-ness and its brooding presence, I realised it had an almost Moon like appearance as it seemed to ‘follow’ me on my walk and journey. It was this feeling of being a constant presence that seeped into my imagination and into this growing series of paintings, and here in this exhibition, my etchings.
I did many drawings of the Rock and on my return home I set about creating a series of oil pastels and oil paintings. In January 2022, I purchased some zinc plates and started a series of etchings called The Bass Rock which currently totals 9 plates.
Instead of just focusing on the Rock itself, I started to introduce other elements such as a ruined monument, as if washed up on the beach. I am trying to explore ideas about the passing of time and the ruins we leave behind, whilst all the time the Bass Rock (and the sea) remain relatively unaltered and unmoved by our attempts at permanence.
The other plates explore my memories of the Rock seemingly ‘floating’ above the terrace houses of North Berwick, or depicting the landing stage and navigational post at its harbour.
The Bass Rock is an on going series of etchings.”
