Catherine Sutcliffe-Fuller

My work is inspired by the urban and edgeland areas of York, close to where I live. I am fascinated by the way we process, view, experience and analyse the landscape, especially when different environments intersect. My project since early spring 2013 has been about local farmland being developed into a shopping centre. I have been exploring, observing and recording the evolution of the area from open fields to construction site and on to the 'soon to be' completed shops, As the project progressed I was generously granted access onto the site by Caddick Construction and developers Bowmer & Kirkland to document the evolution of the external landscape and internal landscape of the John Lewis Store. Since completion of the store in April 2014 I have been producing a series of pictures about the site, showing the many stages involved. From change of land use to construction, materials and ideology. METHODS AND MATERIALS: The techniques and materials that I am using to produce these prints capture the ideas of technological change and development. My multi-plate prints incorporate zinc etchings, a 17th century printmaking technique, to capture the early stages of development. Relief printing, popular in the 18th century, for the later stages and laser-cut plates and laser jet to capture some of the most modern nuances of the new landscape. I like to work in situ initially, drawing onto tracing paper (so I can reverse it later onto plates) and then using photographs projected onto a wall to reference tone. By combining linocut and etching plate prints, I use the contrasting techniques to explore the relationship between the natural and the man-made environments and, by exploring many techniques attempting to interpret the landscape. For the Monks Cross project I have worked with laser-cut and laser jet plates, incorporating these to represent the precision of commercial logos and images in the changing landscape. End Note: I am especially grateful to the Project Manager, Kevin Cowie of Bowmer & Kirkland who escorted me every week inside the store so I could record the interior development from empty shell to a glamorous shop floor. I thank Kevin and Lorraine for their very generous support.