Brian McKenzie
Artist Statement
I’ve been working as an artist with a strong focus on printmaking for ages and prevaricated somewhat to select only 6 works for this online exhibition. I’ve chosen things that represent the main themes and processes I use and love most in my work. One key part of my practice is drawing whether scratching with a sharp tool to make a drypoint or building an intricate multi-layered network of etched lines and tones on a small etching plate. As a counter to this obsessively precise style of work, I make monotypes where loss of control combine with acceptance and enjoyment of instantaneous happenstance and the peculiar properties of materials. I like to make short video pieces using nature as a source, perverted and altered into something new and unusual. I enjoy entropic, auto-detail-creating processes that I can tinker with to create wonderous imagery. I think of myself as a maker of images and objects. I work with clay, plaster, latex, moulds, bones, found object, wood and metal. One overarching theme in my work is the human figure and aberrant, animalised or suited versions of them.
Beelzebub in Deptford High Street. etching. 14 x 10 cm. 2020
The term etching covers a huge range of different techniques but they all work by turning a flat piece of metal into a plate that will print an image. I love the precision, control and opportunity for detail that etching allows. I usually make images by etching a copper plate multiple times using ferric chloride, slowly building up and layering thousands of marks. My subject matter is often figurative and might incorporate suited characters, animals, technology, catastrophic events, anatomy and other odd things.
Visitor from Beyond. monotype, 14 x 20 cm. 2021
Monotype printmaking is one of the most exciting processes there is. Everyone will do it in their own way. The process is so wide ranging, adaptable and magical whilst also being quite difficult and frustrating to master. It seems to me that somehow monoprinting works as a catalyst that reveals some deeper insight into the maker. For me, my mono work seems to manifest in scenes of dark, mysterious goings-on, sometimes tinged with a sense of ridiculousness and humour!
Being No. 26, collagraph and drypoint. 23 x 15cm. 2012
One continual joy with printmaking is how process based it is. A wonderful plate might be made in a matter of seconds, another might take many months. This print combines two processes; collagraph and drypoint and satisfies my interest in depicting distortion and aberration from the norm.
Sylvan magic, Video, 68 seconds, 2020
I’ve long been intrigued by symmetry. One discovery to enjoy is the marvellous way our brains try to find recognisableness in the world. By symmetrising something the brain is encouraged and enabled to see all sorts of things that aren’t really there. You can see more similar videos on my Instagram here
Bosci. approx. 182 cm , multi-media, from 2011
I have an ongoing alter-ego artwork in my house. His name is Bosci; a half beast, half man creation who lives in a cupboard along with his growing collection of objects that represent deep exploration, understanding and appreciation of nature and the universe. Bosci’s name comes from the german word for forest or wood and from an ancient band of naked priests who grew their hair and lived in the fields like animals. Working with Bosci gives me the chance to source, make and develop all sorts of 2 and 3D work for his cupboard hermitage. You can find out more if you visit Bosci’s blog here;
Enrique loves vacuum time. acrylic on paper, 25 x 18 cm. 2016
I paint using acrylics and usually adapt pages from old magazines, books and postcards. Painting gives me the opportunity to express my themes in a more colourful way than with print.