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Print and refractory concrete: new opportunities in scale, surface and durability

This conference presentation, and published paper, discusses a collaborative research project with printmaker Tracy Hill. The aim was to create large format 3D relief prints that retained a print quality, yet rendered in a refractory concrete.

The presentation highlights the compromises and opportunities that developed from the cross-disciplinary activity with the results and findings of importance to both ceramic artists, and printmakers.

The technical challenge was to translate the print techniques developed by Hill into use for refractory concrete: combining both print qualities with ceramic glaze qualities. The presentation discussed the processes developed, and highlights the advantages print making in refractory concrete can offer in terms of the interaction of glaze and oxide, and possibility for large scale work, with durability and permanency. The collaboration challenges the concept of the archive print on paper and opens up new possibilities for printmaking beyond the conventional gallery space.

Impact 8 provides a critical and interactive platform for the varied interests that make print such a unique discipline. Since the first Impact conference hosted in 1999, the events have been held in seven countries and across three continents.