Sometimes a fresh pair of eyes are what’s needed when it comes to bigging up local landmarks. That’s just what DC Thomson illustrator Kate Benzie brought to the Dundee Matters project.
The talented artist is employed by DC Thomson as an illustrator in the news design team. As part of that role, Kate was tasked with creating an artwork to capture the concept that ‘Dundee Matters.’
As we chat over coffee, Kate tells me how lucky she feels to have found a job in illustrating: “there aren’t a lot of salaried roles for illustrators,” she points out.
Kate has also benefitted from a partnership between DC Thomson and Dundee Contemporary Arts Print Studio, giving her a year’s membership to access the print facilities at DCA.
New to Scotland’s east coast, Kate embraced the task of creating a Dundee-inspired print with enthusiasm.
The result is Dundee Matters, a beautiful, 2.5m tall painting which Kate has also reproduced in CMYK printing, risograph and screen print formats with limited runs.
CMYK printing was invented to allow newspapers to print comic strips and, later, colour advertisements and photographs. So it seemed an appropriate choice to celebrate Dundee’s journalistic heritage.
Exploring the city
“As someone who didn’t know the place, one of the best things about this job is how much I’ve learned about the people, history and geography of Dundee,” Kate says.
All the major landmarks are present and correct: The road and rail bridges, Caird Hall, The McManus and its neighbouring Burns Statue.
Her stylised Dundee Matters print also brings in Discovery Point, the Law and the famous Dundee multis.
Monkey business
A stand out favourite for Kate is a feature that I have to confess I have walked past hundreds of times but never noticed.
Luckily, Kate’s creative gaze captured the detail.
“One that just sticks in my mind is the bronze monkey who has mixed up the letters on an information sign into an anagram.”
The sign, not far from the Desperate Dan statue in the city centre, should read ‘Information’ but now says ‘in my fair toon’ thanks to the meddling monkey.
Kate was pleased that she could also embrace the opportunity to use Scots words in her work:
“I was keen to include Burns and the Scots language,” explains Kate, “my mum is a Scots poet and my dad a Scots singer so there’s a personal connection there for me.”
More Dundee animal magic
Another popular animal-themed artwork – the penguin parade outside the Overgate shopping centre – has found its way into the picture.
“I love the penguins!” says Kate, admitting with a grin that it was, “a nice excuse to draw some cute animals.”
The Antarctic animals are a nod to Dundee’s heritage as the base for whaling and exploring ships and are a popular attraction for locals and visitors.
The illustrator felt that it was important to include real people in her painting: “the people are real people that I encountered, they aren’t just made up,” she explains.
Figures from the past in Dundee Matters include the ground-breaking nineteenth century missionary Mary Slessor .
Common people
But it is the ordinary people who make a city tick that really caught Kate’s imagination. She has perfectly depicted: “an older man who has popped out for his messages.”
Complete with a wee poly bag of shopping and, of course, his Courier tucked under his arm: “You might see him in any Scottish city – we all know that guy and I liked that sense of familiarity.”
Another character took a while to find. “I really wanted to feature a woman because so many strong women have kept Dundee going over the generations,” explains Kate.
She was about to give up on finding her ideal subject when a young mum passed her in the street. “She was just walking along Meadowside and I realised that an ordinary mum was perfect.”
DCA is the perfect print location
Kate was overjoyed to be given the opportunity to work in the Dundee Contemporary Arts Print Studio as part of a partnership between DC Thomson and DCA.
Kate’s time in the print studio has allowed her to experiment with different print techniques, including risograph and screen printing.
The graduate of Gray’s School of Art in Aberdeen has also relished the chance to spend time trawling the DC Thomson archives.
“One picture of a woman at a newsstand really stood out to me,” she says, “I got permission to make a print of it. I blew it up to an image 1m tall and printed it in a half tone, which references historical printing processes.”
That print, Dundee Matters and other examples of Kate’s work will be exhibited at The Counting House in DC Thomson’s Meadowside headquarters in June.
Celebrating Dundee’s print heritage
Kate has also been working on some special print runs of Dundee Matters. A CMYK limited edition screen print of the Dundee-themed artwork is available to purchase in the DCA Shop.
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