Jason Hicklin

Traigh Sgurabhal, Barra 2014 Original etching on paper

‘This is where earth and nature end’

Roman general Gnaeus Julius Agricola to his men whilst fighting in the Highlands of Scotland (from Tacitus ‘De vita et moribus lulii Agricolae’)

Eames Fine Ar t Ltd Galler y: 58 Bermondsey Street, London SE1 3UD T: +44 (0)20 7407 1025 Studio: Ground Floor, 54-58 Tanner Street, London SE1 3PH T: +44 (0)20 7407 6561 E: info@eamesfineart.com W: eamesfineart.com

JASON HICKLIN THE END OF THE WORLD Jason Hicklin first visited the Outer Hebrides in 1995 and has since returned to the archipelago of islands many times to draw and etch. The work in this exhibition is the result of two journeys: the first to the Isle of Mull in the Inner Hebrides in December 2012, and the second to the Isles of Barra, North Uist and South Uist in the Outer Hebrides in August 2013. Born in Wolverhampton in 1966, Jason Hicklin studied at Saint Martin’s School of Art where he was a student of the renowned printmaker Norman Ackroyd. After completing a postgraduate printmaking course at the Central School of Art in 1993, Jason combined working as Ackroyd’s studio assistant and editioner with producing his own work. Jason was elected to the Royal Society of Painter Printmakers (RE) in 1993 and has since had numerous solo and joint shows across the UK and Ireland. He was awarded the Julian Trevelyan RE Memorial Prize at the National Printmaking Exhibition (1997) and the Curwen Print Prize (2008). Jason is currently head of printmaking at the City & Guilds of London Art School. The etchings in this series are made from zinc plates etched with nitric acid and printed on Somerset hand-made paper in Jason’s studio in Shropshire. They are published and numbered in editions of 30 with three artist’s proofs.

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;The initial period of work takes place within the landscape, walking, taking notes and drawing in sketch books and on soft ground zinc plates. On returning to the studio this work becomes the source for drawings, paintings and etchings; a period of contemplation, analysis and reengagement with the sketch books and the landscape itself. A reminder, a trigger for the memory of place and experience. Etching is fundamental to my work, it creates an atmosphere and period of concentration. The act of decision making and commitment to the mark is paramount. The physicality of corrosion, an element of chance which I experienced in the landscape, can be re-engaged with during the etching process. This process, together with the rhythm of a series of prints, again re-engages me with the walks I have made. The boundaries and limits can encourage improvisation and questioning of the etching process. This is what drives my work in the etching studio.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; Jason Hicklin, 2014

Castlebay Barra 2014

Etching | Paper: 620 x 350 mm | Image: 530 x 250 mm ÂŁ650 framed

South Uist from Orasaigh 2014

Etching | Paper: 580 x 360 mm | Image: 460 x 260 mm ÂŁ650 framed

Orasaigh, South Uist 2014

Etching | Paper: 560 x 385 mm | Image: 430 x 280 mm ÂŁ650 framed

South Uist 2014

Etching with chine-collĂŠ | Paper: 557 x 396 mm | Image: 460 x 310 mm ÂŁ700 framed

(above) N o r t h U i s t

(below) T r a i g h S q u r a b h a l

2014