The digital art world of Gary Wornell
Earlier this year, digital artist Gary Wornell showed off his unique work at his 35 Years Retrospective Show in Finland
Canadian artist Gary Wornell has built up an international reputation for his digital photography, but when he first arrived in Finland back in 1980, it was the arena of ceramics that was his speciality. Although he went on to make his name in the world of digital photography, by merging his skill and knowledge of this different media he quickly became established as an individual presence in the art world and this has now resulted in a retrospective show in his adopted home country.
Wornell’s trademark is printing digital images on his own, custom prepared media, ranging from the most delicate Japanese paper to rigid steel. And Epson’s vital role in this since 2008 is to provide him with the large format printer necessary – the Epson Stylus Pro 9880 - for producing his art.
For the retrospective, the entire museum in Riihimäki was filled with the artist’s own collection of work, as well as some of his other images that were on loan from collectors and galleries. These incredible images, combined with works from his award-winning Travel Photographer of the Year portfolio, have made this one of the ‘must-see’ art events of 2009.
Realising a multi-media vision
Despite being able to easily fill 1700 sq. meters with his incredible art, it wasn’t so long ago that Wornell wondered how feasible his vision was. The initial attempt at putting a steel template through his first Epson large format was a real leap of faith – after all, this isn’t a conventional product to put through a printer, no matter how large and durable it was - but the results were better than he could have hoped for. This early success resulted with Epson setting Gary up with the Epson Stylus Pro 9880 in his studio in Riihimäki, from which he has gone on to create and print larger and ever more ambitious prints.
And how does the artist feel about how his work has been enhanced by Epson?
“I have put just about every material I can lay my hands on that will feed into the printer comfortably, through these machines. I have seen what the possibilities are and have learned a lot about the potential of these devices for creating works of art. The inkjet printer is a highly sophisticated device that delivers a very simple product; pigment colour on a surface. Once you understand that and work within the recommended media limits of size and thickness, then the possibilities are enormous. Working with Epson has been a wonderful experience. The people I work with are very supportive and helpful and do everything possible to help me realise my creative dreams. I feel I am in a very privileged position to be able to do what I do within the organisation.”
So with this glowing endorsement from the artist, Epson is once more putting into practise its commitment to the the arts through the use of innovative products.