The Tayside House demolition, Mary Lily Walker and urban foxes have all made their way into 10 new public artworks nearing completion.
A group of volunteers gathered in Duncan of Jordanstone’s printmaking workshop on Friday to test the collaborative lino tiles ahead of the Big Print project on August 31.
During the event which coincides with a range of printmaking activity in the city, including international printmaking conference Impact8 and the McManus’ Modern Masters exhibition a three-tonne road-roller will be used to turn the 10 tiles into new artworks.
But the volunteers were busy putting them through more conventional presses to make sure the fruits of eight months of labour pay off.
Iona McCann, from Leisure & Culture Dundee’s creative learning team, explained they had been working with different schools and community groups since January to create the tiles.
“We’ve been introducing the groups to printmaking as part of a city-wide project,” she said.
“We’ve worked with St Joseph’s Primary, Blackness Primary, Victoria Park Primary, Morgan Academy, Monifieth High School, Dundee High School, the International Women’s Centre, Grey Lodge and the Youth Action Group.
“The last tile will be created by the volunteers who have been coming in since May.”
Each group was given a different theme. Their drawings were then incorporated into the final 10 lino-cuts.
The themes have varied from the women of Dundee to the city’s history and landscape.
Printmaker Scott Hudson, who is part of the creative learning team for the McManus and DCA, said: “We had a rotation with the schools, bringing them to the McManus and round the exhibitions for inspiration.
“There have been a couple of hundred people involved. The whole idea was to show the fun side of Dundee and people who have not done art in years are now interested in taking it up as a hobby.”
Iona added: “It was important to increase the accessibility of printmaking.”
The Big Print kicks off around 1pm at Duncan of Jordanstone on August 31, when all the different groups will see their lino-cuts transformed.