1 - The James Watt Print Show
Trongate 103, Merchant City
Exhibition:
Thu 6 to Sat 8 June, Tue 11 to Sat 15 June: 10:00-17:00.
Sun 9 & Sun 16 June: 12:00-17:00.
Mon closed.
Talk:
Sat 8 June, 11:00-12:00 & 14:00-15:00.
16+
Free
Book tickets
James Watt is famed for his world-changing work on steam engines. But did you know he also invented a letter copier? Celebrate the legacy of Watt’s innovation through this exciting new exhibition by some of Scotland’s leading artists, pushing the boundaries of the process.
The exhibition will coincide with a talk by the curators, engineer /printmaker Roger Farnham and artist / papermaker Jacki Parry. Discover how they made ink and copy paper conditioner using Watt's 1780 patent recipes and the special copy paper required using the materials and methods used in the late 18th century.
The exhibition, The James Watt Print Show will include work by printmakers who have been invited to explore the letter-copier printing process. The list of confirmed participating artists is below:
Claire Barclay Lin Chau Roger Farnham Claire Forsyth Jo Ganter Alistair Gow Alasdair Gray Elspeth Lamb Liz Lochhead Tommy Lydon Harry Magee Aoife McGarrigle John McKechnie Ian McNicol Stuart Murray Jacki Parry Jim Pattison Murray Robertson Bronwen Sleigh Gregor Smith Dominic Snyder John Taylor Nuala Watt Fiona Watson
The exhibition will coincide with a talk on Saturday 8 June, led by Roger Farnham and Jacki Parry during which they will demonstrate how Watt made his copies, and describe how businesses continued to use Watt’s process right into the 20th century.
Previously Roger Farnham co-curated (with Harry Magee) b l u e p r I n t in 2013 and Ponton to Klic to Photojournalism in 2015: both those events explored photo-mechanical printing. Exploring the Watt letter-copier process takes this odyssey back to the pre-photography aspirations of Watt and his friends.
First published: 7 February 2019