Recently Completed Work

This section highlights various new prints by Ralph Kiggell that have recently been added to or will be featured in a collection within the website.

The Sacred Shapes group is a continuation of the Sacred Towers prints in the current work section. They are a simple series of black shapes on a grey/green background. These flamelike shapes are partly inspired by the ubiquitous ornamental ‘kranok’ that appear in Thai architecture and in Thai art, and themselves are derived from organic forms such as buds and leaves.  The kranok is a very soothing, elegant shape that you see as finials on Thai roofs, on tapering crowns worn by dancers and nobility, and on insignia and crests. They seem, too, to influence the little upward flicks in Thai lettering. The swaying shape and elegance of kranok is similar to the delicate depiction of figures, angel wings and other motifs in International Gothic art. For this series, I have taken natural shapes, too, and adapted them to this swaying rhythm.

The Hong Kong group is a developing series of prints about the islands, parkland and dramatic cityscapes that make up the areas of Hong Kong, Kowloon and the New Territories, as well as Victoria Harbour. These prints were completed for a children’s book called ‘My Hong Kong’, a collaboration with Joanne O'Callaghan. Their subjects range from Pedder Street, in the busy heart of the city, to the village of Stanley on the south side of the island. They also illustrate the incredibly varied forms of transport in Hong Kong: the double-decker buses, the trams and the Star Ferry.

In the Figures group, I have completed three prints shown here. Fugitive and Discoverer are dreamscapes. Unknown Soldier is a reflection on war and the tragic beauty of young soldiers.