“For this body of work in etching, Cranston worked closely with Master Printmaker Alistair Gow, to experiment and play, discovering a new language in spit bite and soap ground etching processes. The resulting works invite the viewer into a complex but dreamy world.
If You Know Your History locates the viewer in a dreamscape that could be Glasgow, invoking childhood memories of standing before the 8000 year old giant elk in Kelvingrove Museum. The title gives a gentle nod to museums but also a song often heard on the Glasgow football terraces. However Cranston’s agility as visual storyteller leaves plenty of room for the viewer to find their own meaning, connect to their own memories or to simply enjoy the fluid mark making and invocation of place and time.
In Mirror Phase, a bird’s inquisitive gaze looks back at the viewer in sharp focus, as the room beyond the confines of the cage bars hovers with a softness created by painting directly onto the copper plate with acid. Cranston slips easily between painting and printmaking and in the process creates a new language and world for us to inhabit.”
