Kelvin Mann’s eagerly anticipated solo exhibition Navigate explores the concept of movement and migration through the lens of various forms of navigation.

The etchings and screen prints depict migrating birds, schools of fish, animal migration paths, lighthouses, maritime maps and travelling mobile homes. Each of these elements represents a different way of navigating through the world, whether through instinct, technology, or human ingenuity.

Mann uses gold and platinum leaf as a means to embellish the prints and also to highlight the value and significance we should place on the natural world and its inhabitants.

Through simplified geometric maps, Mann represents countries and bodies of water identifiable only by their unique configuration of the lighthouses that guide travellers. He showcases the journeys undertaken by humans and the importance of navigational aids such as lighthouses and maps. Additionally he demonstrates the instinctive behaviour of animals following visual landmarks, the movements of the sun and stars and an innate sense of the earth’s magnetic field.

Born in New Zealand, Kelvin Mann studied at the Otago School of Fine Art, NZ. Employed as an animation artist by Vidmark Television, NZ from 1994-1996, in 1997 he moved to Dublin and became a member of Graphic Studio Dublin. He has worked as a printmaker at Stoney Road Press in Dublin since 2002 and shows in Ireland, UK, USA, New Zealand and Australia. He has exhibited a number of times over the years at SO Fine Art Editions, and we are delighted to have him back to show this new body of work.