aka: Screen Printing

This page describes some of the screen printing (Serigraphs) of Ken Ford. Ford’s experience of the process goes back to his work in the mid 1970s at Original Displays, Brookvale. Here, Ken developed skills in high quality screen printing in the advertising display industry.
Some of the works are simple single colour images and some are highly technical 4 colour process prints on artist paper and ceramics (as water slide decals). Most of the editions are less than 5, making them quite rare. one major work from 1998 was produced as an artist proof and never editioned. Many have been lost over time due to moisture and vermin damage in the subtropical bush setting of the Larnook studio.

Silos 2000

A1 Serigraph on handmade artist paper edition of 5. Being 4 colour process screen prints – designed from digitally manipulated panoramic image using 5 photographs (before stitching software and smart phones) 2000.. This image is from new year 1999. The silos were earmarked for development. There was a plan to circumvent the highrise ban on waterfront buildings by ‘renovating’ the old silos into plush appartments. My project at the time was the documentation of the changing skyline of Hobart.

a photo of the finished renovation of the old silos.

Reflections 1997.

4 colour serigraph. Editioned w/ various states. (approx 20 in all)

On arriving at UTAS Ford made a photograph of his reflection in the glass entrance to the visual arts facility at Hunter St in the docks precinct of Hobart. The first of many works depicting images of the Sullivan’s Cove / Salamanca scenes on and around the waterfront. The printmaking dept had a vacuum table with ‘one armed squeegee’ that had not had a great amount of use due to the fact that not many people realised how to utilise the tool. Ken’s training as a screen printer in the mid 1970s left him with many hours of experience with such a machine. “I really enjoyed rekindling past skills at the facility which was well equipped compared to my recent time at SCU, a fledging printmaking studio, in Lismore”

Wooden Boats on the Derwent. 1998

3 extremely limited editions of various sailing boats that Ford photographed during his sail racing days on the Derwent River, Hobart.