Stephanie Draper

PRINTMAKER PROFILE

ARTIST STATEMENT

I grew up wandering the English countryside. My strong sense of nature and place has developed further as I travel the world designing big change projects that address social and environmental issues. My art draws on my scientific background and interest in patterns of change.

I am a printmaker and painter. I use oil, acrylic,intaglio, drypoint and etching to depict the connections and contradictions between the wildness of landscapes and the formality and function of the maps we use to represent them. My prints are maps of wild places, currently focused on Alaska and The Yukon. I use the quality of the ink on a plate to get an antique quality to the prints like old maps.

I am currently fascinated with the way big global concerns manifest in specific places. River Piracy, for example, is impacting the Yukon. As a glacier shrinks it can change the way rivers flow which starves a landscape of vital water sources, impacting the communities that draw on them. My examination of these places through my art deepens my understanding and I hope brings insight and beauty to social change. I hope that the prints themselves hold the beauty and simplicity of maps and nature for people to enjoy.

Kluane

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