About the Film

This is a printmaking documentary film about Julian Meredith, filmed in his studio as part of my wider exploration of contemporary printmaking across the UK. It was one of seven films I made for the Glossary Exhibition, commissioned by Northern Print and screened alongside the artists’ work in 2014. The exhibition celebrated the very best in contemporary printmaking, taking viewers into the private studios of artists working across the country through specially commissioned films.

Working at a Different Scale

This printmaking documentary film opens with Julian speaking about his approach with real passion. Although his work builds on traditional woodcut techniques, he has reinvented the process in ways that set him apart. Rather than carving small wood blocks, Julian works with entire planks, sometimes whole trees, transferring their textures and grain patterns directly onto paper. It is less about precise cutting and more about embracing the natural scale and character of the wood itself.

He prefers to burnish the back of the paper instead of using a press, keeping the raw qualities of the wood’s surface intact. Working at a large scale is fundamental to how he thinks. “I don’t like my mind to reduce scale onto something small,” he says. “I like my mind to think outwards.”

Colour and Transparency

A particularly engaging part of this printmaking documentary film is Julian’s discussion of colour. He talks about preferring transparent colours over opaque ones, describing how opacity can feel deadening while transparency lets images feel lighter and more alive. “It’s no longer earthbound,” he explains, “it’s more river, it’s more water and air bound.”

Fish, Birds and a Future for the Natural World

Julian’s subject matter often centres on the natural world, fish, birds and animals, and in the film he talks about wanting to project these creatures into a visual future rather than looking back at them with nostalgia. His method of transferring images directly from objects, rather than relying solely on drawings, underlines a belief in a more immediate, physical creative process.

Authenticity and the Human Touch

The film also explores Julian’s views on authenticity. He speaks candidly about how people sometimes struggle to distinguish between mechanical reproductions and true handcrafted prints, leading to mistrust. His view is firm, copies of paintings, he says, simply do not hold up. This printmaking documentary film returns again and again to the value of traditional technique and the human touch, an idea that sits at the centre of both printmaking and documentary filmmaking.

Filming Julian Meredith

Filming this printmaking documentary film was a chance to share Julian’s unique approach and to show how his creative process defies convention. Projects like the Glossary Exhibition are part of why I keep returning to artist studios with a camera, documenting process and giving viewers a glimpse behind the studio door.

About Northern Print and the Glossary Exhibition

Northern Print is a leading printmaking studio and gallery based in Newcastle, supporting artists and audiences through exhibitions, studio access and education. The Glossary Exhibition brought together some of the best in contemporary printmaking, with each artist’s work accompanied by a specially commissioned film. You can find out more about their work at northernprint.org.uk.