Abstract

‘Web of Life’ is the idea that everything, living and non-living, has a connection to everything else. This is sometimes expressed as a diagram showing the relationships between different parts of an ecosystem by a series of interconnected lines. The title of this exhibition borrows this idea and presents a new body of prints by Kevin Petrie alongside materials from the Iris Murdoch archive. The aim being that the artwork and archive materials create dialogues, connections and relationship between each other. The hope is that this might offer viewers lines of connection for considering both the artwork and archive materials. The exhibition is divided into named sections: ‘I will not wander’, ‘End of a night’, ‘The one alone’, ‘What lies beneath’, ‘Who is the boy’, ‘Stamps’, ‘Spiders’, and ‘Birds’. The titles refer to imagery in the prints and/or reference the content of the associated archive materials. The titles also offer possible ‘lenses’ for considering what is on display.

The prints have been inspired by reading Iris Murdoch’s novels. Kevin is a long standing Murdoch enthusiast and in the last two years he has been reading the twenty six novels in order. Certain aspects of the books started to stand out for potential visual interpretation and Kevin made quick drawings of these ideas in a sketchbook. These initial ideas were often later developed into paintings, drawings and the prints we see here. This coincided with Kevin’s re-engagement with etching – a process he first explored over 30-years ago as a young art student.

This work is also investigating some of the creative possibilities of printmaking. For example, printmaking allows for an image to be reproduced and so variations on a theme can be explored. This is seen in the pieces inspired by the 1969 novel ‘Bruno’s Dream’ where an elderly man, reflects on his life and enthusiasms, like stamps, spiders and champagne, while trying to reconcile aspects of his life and to reconnect with his estranged son. Along the way various people connect with him and support him. Kevin made two etchings of a recumbent ‘Bruno-like’ figure with various combinations and collaged (Chine Collé) additions. Some pieces are over printed to create a layered image. Kevin also explored another print process, lithography, at this time. This method involved drawing on a special stone from which the print is taken. Lithography is especially known for its ability to reproduce fine painterly effects.

As Kevin was making this body of work he visited the Iris Murdoch Archives and with the help of Dayna Miller the archivist he selected items from the collection to show alongside the prints. The archival materials highlight some aspects of Murdoch’s life including friendships, letter writing, and a love of spiders and stamps. The materials also showcase a range of Murdoch’s creative outputs spanning her life including novels, poetry, notebooks, letters, plays and even printmaking.