Julian Laffan is a printmaker who specialises in woodcuts and drawings, exploring themes of history and identity. Julian hand-carves his woodcuts and often chooses not to print his blocks, instead creating unique works by directly colouring the woodblock with pencil, oil and gouache. This is a conscious decision to reference the historical use of the woodcut for the dissemination of information and images. He is inspired by his surroundings, carefully capturing scenes from his travels as well as the intimacy of his home. His pieces are a “reflection of place and time in a single captured moment carved and suspended as an image in timber”. Julian seeks to replace the instantaneous circulation of information and imagery, so common today, with prolonged meditation; a single tableau documented through deliberate labour.
Canberra based artist Julian Laffan graduated from the Australian National University with a Bachelor of Arts (Visual) in 2004. He held his first solo exhibition the following year in 2005 and since then has exhibited frequently, particularly within the Canberra region. Julian is currently undertaking a PhD at the Australian National University, examining “the liminality between the woodblock matrix, the print and the tree.” He has worked on cross-cultural print based projects in East Timor, Indonesia and the Thai-Burma border and travels regularly. In 2024, Julian attended the International Mokuhanga Conference in Japan, participating in workshops on traditional Japanese papermaking and woodblock techniques. Julian’s work is held in the collections of the Canberra Museum and Gallery as well as the Print Council of Australia.
