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ABANDONED

Whenever I create a series of work, whether it’s inspired by the urban or natural landscape I’ll often give it time to breathe. I will abandon it for a period of time, refrain from looking at it for as little as a few days, to a longer period of time, sometimes as long as a year or very occasionally much longer. Whatever the process needs, to enable the finished result to reach the desired conclusion. ‘Abandoned’ a series of unique monoprints is a prime example of this approach, work that has been in progress for a much longer timescale, six years, from start to finish, to be exact. Not because I was unsure of what to do next but because other work would take priority. When I originally started making records of the images, it was a difficult time in my personal life; maybe I subconsciously abandoned the series because of that. I revisited the ‘Abandoned’ series last year, adding a deep red etch to the surface of the paper, creating its final layer. This series of nine monoprints was inspired by the urban environment, a derelict bus depot in Loftus, Yorkshire. It first opened its doors in 1926 and closed in 2009. A partly demolished building with surfaces damaged by fire, bubbled peeling paint, exposed colour and an abundance of texture. Freezing moments in time, drawing energies from man-made structures, where nature intervened, altered by time and circumstance - using gestural mark-making, lines, textures, shadows, shapes and found objects.

RAMSHACKLE PATCHWORK: PETALUMA 

R.O.SHELLING AND GRAIN

The Ramshackle Patchwork series is an accumulation of six month’s work initiated by a print residency in California in December 2019. After scouring Downtown Petaluma, Maxine stumbled upon the derelict agricultural building, R.O.Shelling Grain and Chicken Feed: a fascinating tower of irregularities and beautiful corrugated iron. It became Ramshackle Patchwork, true to its name. During the first lockdown (2020) she disciplined a residency at home where she focused on paring back, extracting elements, playing with spaces and echoes, creating a series of monotypes and editions.

THE DAIRY FACTORY: PETALUMA

DOWNTOWN PETALUMA

BARCELONA

This body of work is based on a journey made through the city of Barcelona, responding to the bohemian architecture, its ornate doors and windows, decaying walls, geometric pavement patterns and graffiti. As well as the beach and it’s looming cuboid, inspired by the rusty sculpture by Rebecca Horn. These complex, multi-layered screen prints are erased with sand paper then carefully overlaid with plasma cut etching, spray paint and Dremel drill drawings, reflecting the erosion and environmental changes in the city and coast.

BRISTOL DOCKS

BRISTOL DOCKS: GRAFFITI

This work was inspired by water, graffiti, letters and numbers found around the Bristol Dock area and graffiti behind Spike Print studios. Also spurring artistry were traffic road signs, a temporary Helter Skelter and several 1940’s Tank Wagons - with their rusting and decaying surfaces (originally used for transporting goods). In response, Maxine drew delicate ink drawings on mark-resist (clear acetate) before screen printing.

 

Maxine creates unique one-off, abstract images by layering a growing library of gestural marks; influenced by structures, colours, and shapes taken from the surrounding environment, combining multiple print processes with palimpsest-like erasure, capturing the essence of surfaces forgotten by time. Giving new life to the discarded and disregarded, thus appreciating the beauty in what may be deemed ugly.

BRISTOL DOCKS: TANK WAGONS

SPIKE: ICE CREAM GRAFFITI

BRISTOL DOCKS AND BEHIND SPIKE: MIXED MEDIA

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