Carlyn Zwarenstein
The Escape Artist

Carlyn Zwarenstein is a Canadian artist who increasingly includes printmaking in her daily work, seeking new ways to combine intaglio and other techniques with her writing. She did a micro-Residence at ´ace in which she deepened her knowledge about engraving techniques. Her main intention is to be able to articulate the engraving in her daily life, taking into account the particularities of being an artist who works mainly from home and with a chronic illness in the spine which requires her to perform techniques that are not so demanding.

ARTIST STATEMENT

I’m a writer with a strong interest and a little training in visual arts, especially printmaking (2 years of art school). As a writer, I have freelanced on issues relating to social justice and social movements for 20 years, reporting mostly from Canada but also internationally. More recently I have been writing more about science, medicine, & mental states. My 1st book, a lyrical look at opioid painkillers & pain in the context of a North American addiction & overdose crisis, was a Globe & Mail best 100 books of 2016 and shortlisted for the main science writing book award in Canada. It has been a required text on university courses in 2017. I took part in my first writing/printmaking residency in Venice in May of 2017, attending the Scuola Grafica di Venezia as a writer, but studying printmaking while there. I am in the later stages of writing my first novel.

The Escape Artist (and printmaking exploration)

A novel about escape, solidarity, creativity and impunity (and printmaking)—and an associated small project of printmaking exploration and production.