Jemma’s practice explores the documentation of urban and industrial decline. Her fascination with recording the passage of time is evoked with nostalgia and the questions that arise around the lost and forgotten landscapes. Urban exploration and documenting architectural decline reconnects the present day to the past. She increasingly feels this is important and a way of recording our heritage before it is obliterated from our society. Drawing, photographing and producing prints permit the experience of authenticity of place which is lacking in our forever developing, shiny and pre-fabricated landscapes. Jemma’s recordings invite the viewer to reflect upon the degeneration of architectural spaces and to experience the city as a living museum.
Jemma has completed an MA in Multidisciplinary Printmaking at the University of the West of England.
She exhibits frequently in the UK and internationally with the most recent being: Interruptions 4o Print Fest, Athens; Woolwich Contemporary Print Fair, London; 166th Annual exhibition RWA, and the 2018 Flourish Award, where she received the People’s Choice Award. She was awarded a Queen Elizabeth Scholarship this Spring (2018) to support the Print Research Fellowship at City & Guilds of London Art School.
She will use the Fellowship as an opportunity to expand her technical understanding of intaglio printmaking methodologies, whilst creating a new body of work that researches into industrial decline in the UK.
Eventually Jemma would like to set up her own print studio. As a Fellow at the Art School, the opportunity will allow her to fully understand what is needed to achieve this.
Website: www.jemmagunning.com
Instagram: @jemma_gunning_printmaker
Twitter: jemmagunning88