Sarah Gillespie – A Lament for the Bordered Gothic (Detail). Mezzotint, 49.5 x 74 cm, Edition 30, 2022
“This a lament for all of our winged nocturnal neighbours and their gradual passing from our lives.” – Sarah Gillespie
Rabley Gallery is delighted to launch two new mezzotints by Sarah Gillespie of the Bordered Gothic Moth. This adds to the collection of 26 prints of moths currently in the Victoria and Albert Museum collection and further explores the artist’s interest in the luminous power of mezzotint engraving to express beauty and vulnerability.
Lament for the Bordered Gothic and Bordered Gothic (Small) were made in response her recent six month artist residency at the Cambridge University Museum of Zoology. The Bordered Gothic moth (Heliophobus Reticulata) is critically endangered in the UK.
In the large scale mezzotint Lament for a Bordered Gothic, (49.5 x 74cm) the detail of the moths top wing pattern subtly contrasts with the softer underwings, emerging from an expansive plane of velvet darkness in the black background. The smaller study Bordered Gothic (Small) (20.5 x 20cm), draws us in with a casting light, framed by a paper border. Its modest scale does not lessen the image’s strong and beautiful presence.
Sketches by Sarah Gillespie, beginning the process.
Wiping the copper plate in the studio after inking.
The mezzotint plate of A Lament for the Bordered Gothic, with the artist’s primary tools.
Short film depicting the process of printing A Lament for the Bordered Gothic, 2022.
A Thousand Goodbyes, 2024
Mezzotint
60 x 91 cms (23.62 x 35.83 ins)
Printed on Arches Moulin du Gue
Nut-tree Tussock, 2024
Mezzotint35 x 28 cm
Edition 30
Printed on Moulin dú Gue
2024
Mezzotint
50 x 63 cms (19.68 x 24.80 ins)
Edition 30
Printed on Moulin dú Gue
2024
Mezzotint
23.5 x 40 cms (9.25 x 15.75 ins)
Edition 30
Printed on Moulin dú Gue2024 Mezzotint Size: 43 x 43 cm Edition 30 Printed on Moulin dú Gue
2024 Mezzotint Print Size: 30 x 30 cm Paper Size: 40 x 40cm Edition 30 Printed on Moulin dú Gue
Mezzotint, 2023 Paper 35 x 28cm, Plate 20 x 20cm Edition 30 Printed on Moulin dú Gue
Medium: Mezzotint
Paper size 44 x 44cm
Printed to the edge on Arches Moulin du Gue paper
Edition 20
Published 2023
Medium: Mezzotint Plate Size: 60 x 75cm, Paper Size: 67 x 82cm Edition of 10 Published 2023 Printed on Arches Moulin du Gue
Mezzotint
Paper size 43 x 43cm
Printed to the edge on Arches Moulin du Gue paper
Edition 20
Published 2023
Medium: Mezzotint
Paper size 35cm x 45cm
Printed on Aquiri handmade paper
Edition 20
Published 2019
Medium: Mezzotint
Plate Size 16 x 16cm
Paper Size 21 x 21cm
Edition of 5
Published 2023
Printed on Aquari Handmade Paper
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