21 March – 7 April 2019
about the exhibition
Kati Thamo is a highly skilled printmaker and a superb colourist; creating prints that are easily recognisable through their depth of tone and unusual textural quality. Her narratively rich prints record her lifelong observations of the natural world, often documenting points of interaction between humans and animals. She hopes to shift perspectives by rejecting the dichotomy of these realms, inviting them to intermingle on the page. In her current exhibition, Kati asks us to forgo our human-centric world view and explore life through another language – the intense gaze of a Kestrel, the felt presence of an Owl, the liquid song making of a Butcherbird – where sensation confounds description. In the ‘Book of nature’ series, Kati acts as scribe and translator of these natural elements that make up the language of the land, for us to contemplate. The profile of each page flows into the next, building up the contours of the terrain while miniature ecosystems sprawl across the surface. Most of Kati’s work is in print media, using etching, linocut and collagraph techniques. Here, she has created detailed etchings that are enhanced with striking ‘a la poupée’, graphite and watercolour additions. These techniques add a depth to the scenes and a uniqueness to each work which highlights the profound importance of our encounters with Nature. As ecosystems enter an increasingly precarious state, she emphasises the need to change our engagement with the natural world.
A graduate of both Edith Cowan University, Perth, and the University of Tasmania, Kati has lectured in Visual Art at Great Southern Regional College, Albany, WA, and in Printmaking at Edith Cowan University. She has been the recipient of many awards including the 2003 Major Open Award at the Western Australian Printmedia Awards, the Gallery 500 Award at the Albany Art Prize in 2004 and the Open Award in the Albany Art Prize in 2007. In 2000, 2006 and 2008, Kati was a finalist in the prestigious Silk Cut Award. Her work is represented in public collections Australia wide.