Hannah Maxwell

she/her

My current practice explores the physical exploration of communication and connection, through the sensations of the mind and body. Everyday language is rather limited in its ability to express the breadth of possibility and the fullness of being. Creating work through printmaking, however, has allowed me a glimpse of this fullness. The physicality and the labour become meditative, instilling a quiet sense of joy throughout the body, and emptying the mind. As a result, my work has become an embodied exploration to search for a new visual language that captures the soul and the energy of the process itself, within its imagery.

This process begins with copper. Finding old and discarded plates, I dissolve any previous images, sand them down and buff them clean. Any oxidization is removed but the age and the history of the surface is preserved. I will use this plate multiple times, forming a visual field by responding to any previous marks using an automatic mark-making process that utilizes my motor-responses to auditory stimulation. After the initial layer of marks has been established, I study the imagery produced for anything resembling landscapes within the natural world. I then push the plate to further resemble the observed landscape, forming a collaboration with the material. 

This method allows for an element of spontaneity that embraces both chance and intention. The use of sound to describe marks brings the art back into the body and allows me to share my love of printing. My hope is to inspire others in their pursuit of truth and meaning and to foster a practice of inner peace in a time the world seems to need it most.