up-and-coming | alex white ― printmaker | hut history

image details: alex white, adamsfield hut, 2024, woodblock print, edition of 8, 60 x 90 cm

Emerging artist, Alex White, is committed to his craft. But he is also committed to documenting our bush heritage.

Tasmania’s wilderness is dotted with old huts that have provided shelter for drovers, trappers, miners and trekkers. But these are slowly being destroyed by the ravages of time and weather. Alex, a passionate bushwalker, has just produced a series of prints about his beloved huts. “In a way I am documenting a special part of Tasmania’s history before it is lost forever,” Alex tells us. “I don’t like presenting an idealised version of events, I re-create what is there right in front of me, bad weather and all.”

Working from his own photographs, Alex has produced a limited series of prints from rough-hewn wood carvings. “I chose this medium to emphasise the weathered texture of the materials used to construct each hut and their surrounding landscape.” Handmark’s Emerging Artist exhibition is the first showing for this 31-year-old artist, and his excitement is palpable: “It’s fantastic. Very exhilarating!”