Joanna Lamb: First impressions

From an early age, Joanna Lamb was exposed to the principles and techniques of printmaking through her dad’s off-set printing business. Here, she reflects upon skills she acquired on the workshop floor and how this experience helped shape her aesthetic sensibility.

Interview with Tiffeny Fayne

Tiffeny Fayne / I imagine that as an artistic child experiencing the industrial processes of off-set lithography would have been fascinating. I can visualise masses of flat pantone colour, the repeated transference of images accompanied by the constant whir of machinery. Can you talk about impressions or sensory memories that have stuck with you?

Joanna Lamb / The smells associated with the factory have left the most lasting and evocative associations, especially those of the oil-based inks and freshly printed paper. I was fascinated by the layering and registering of different colours and the gradual revelation of the final printed page. The multiple steps and processes that needed to occur to transform an idea into a poster, a book or a magazine was especially interesting because of its complexity.

TF / A sophisticated understanding of design is pronounced in your cohesive and harmonious work. Were these principles imparted early on or was it a gradual or unconscious assimilation of ideas and knowledge?

JL / I studied graphic design after completing a visual arts degree. That’s when I was really taught the principles of design. These principles apply equally to the visual arts. I’m talking about things like balance, contrast, emphasis, proportion, repetition, movement, hierarchy and unity. Learning how to manipulate these elements to achieve the outcome you intend takes practise over time with a lot of failure along the way.

TF / You’ve previously said that the print room setting played a part in determining your visual language. Can you expand on your pictorial techniques? How do you go about reducing the detail of a scene to achieve such delicate, stylised forms?

JL / My works are hand-manufactured rather than painted in the traditional sense. I want to use current tools and materials in my work to reflect the world we live in. I use a computer rather than a pencil to design the image. The paintings are based on photographic images taken mostly by me of everyday environments. I redraw every element and add my own colour palette. I layer the work using hand cut stencils and use a roller rather than a paint brush to apply the colour, painting on a superfine polyester for a smoother finish.

I’m creating work that reflects the way a lot of people view the world. It’s intentionally flat and superficial. The paintings take a long time to make, but their appearance masks a complex production process. I like the labour intensiveness of my process. I like the act of work.

TF / A stillness emanates from your work that gives rise to quiet contemplation. Do you think this is because the images already confer an aura of the illusory, supported by the absence of human presence or as a result of your methods of refinement?

JL / I think the lack of the human figure creates space for the viewer to project their own experience onto the work. A lot of the stillness is created by the colour palette, the composition and lack of specific detail.

TF / Were you encouraged to pursue design or visual art as a child? How was this nurtured? Could you share a little about the creative bond you shared with your dad?

JL / I always wanted to be an artist and my dad and I shared a mutual love of art, though not necessarily a love for the same art. His early pastel drawings and watercolours partly inspired my ambition of one day becoming an artist. He believed in me more often than I believed in myself. He rarely missed one of my exhibition openings, especially if it meant an opportunity to get on a plane and go somewhere. Naturally, he didn’t always like everything I painted. I found it difficult to accept his criticism early on but I am grateful for that criticism now. He taught me to be resilient and to persevere, both qualities essential to any artist.

TF / What can we look forward to seeing in your upcoming exhibition at S+S in September?

JL / I’m working on a large-scale still life Laminex work for September, the biggest I’ve made. I’m very excited about it. There will also be painted elements on the wall. It is an extension of smaller still life works I exhibited in Singapore in 2016.

I’m also working on a series of paintings of local gardens and street scenes, most of which are situated very close to my house.