Jo de Pear

Jo is a multi-disciplinary printmaker whose work is characterised by using unique combinations of printmaking processes.

During the past six years she has been working in Antigua producing a large body of tropically themed works, either as individual artworks or to develop into limited editions in her studio in Brixton.

Working with the plethora of tropical leaves found in the rain forests, as well as beautiful sea corals washed up on the shores, she uses the cyanotype process to create her unique, one-off ‘sun prints’. The UV light is so intense in the Caribbean, it was the perfect process to use. Coating paper with light sensitive emulsion, she casts strong, sharp shadows from her subject matter, before washing the shadows away, developing them with water. The botanical cyanotypes have an ethereal quality, whereas the sea fans are more graphic and archival.

More recently she has created a series of woodcuts made from the beautifully detailed Sea Fan cyanotypes. The colour palettes reflect the vibrant colours she sees all around her from the street signage, the brightly painted houses, to the lush tropical flora.

Jo studied for her BA at Edinburgh College of art and her MA in Printmaking at Chelsea College of Art and has exhibited both nationally and internationally.

Jo’s work was selected for the Summer Exhibition at The Royal Academy in 2022 and is held in numerous collections including Government buildings, The British Museum and in the V&A prints and drawings collection.