DAVID ROBERTSON
The youngest child of four, David Robertson grew up in Birkenhead during Thatcher’s Britain.
Birkenhead suffered massive unemployment and recession at this time as shipyards closed and thousands of men in all associated industries were laid off. Just across the River Mersey, Liverpool was suffering similar hardship and was ablaze with riots.
Unbeknown to David, the skills he learnt from out-of-work steel fabricators as a young boy set him free on the road to art school and he moved south to Bath to study sculpture. On leaving art school, he took various jobs to pay for studio space and for many years worked as an engineer on oil rigs.
David has written and directed several films and documentaries, which have been selected for official screenings at Zinebi Festival for Documentaries and Short Films in Bilbao, Spain, Sehsüchte in Potsdam, Germany, Brief Encounters in Bristol, UK and broadcast on HTV.
His work, whether print, film, sculpture or writing has always been a response to social and political issues. Wood engraving has its roots in newspaper illustration and as a medium it fits his concerns well.
Birkenhead suffered massive unemployment and recession at this time as shipyards closed and thousands of men in all associated industries were laid off. Just across the River Mersey, Liverpool was suffering similar hardship and was ablaze with riots.
Unbeknown to David, the skills he learnt from out-of-work steel fabricators as a young boy set him free on the road to art school and he moved south to Bath to study sculpture. On leaving art school, he took various jobs to pay for studio space and for many years worked as an engineer on oil rigs.
David has written and directed several films and documentaries, which have been selected for official screenings at Zinebi Festival for Documentaries and Short Films in Bilbao, Spain, Sehsüchte in Potsdam, Germany, Brief Encounters in Bristol, UK and broadcast on HTV.
His work, whether print, film, sculpture or writing has always been a response to social and political issues. Wood engraving has its roots in newspaper illustration and as a medium it fits his concerns well.
Born: 1971
Member of the Society of Wood Engravers
Education:
BA Fine Art (Sculpture), Bath Spa University
BA Time-based Media, University of the West of England, Bristol
MA Screenwriting, University of the West of England, Bristol
Recent exhibitions:
Royal West of England Autumn Open, Bristol, 2016
The Society of Wood Engravers’ 79th Annual Exhibition, touring, 2016-17
Royal Birmingham Society of Artists Print Prize, 2016
National Original Print Exhibition, 2016
Liverpool Open, 2016
RE Masters: Relief prints, London, 2015
Royal West of England Autumn Open, Bristol 2015
The Society of Wood Engravers’ 78th Annual Exhibition, touring, 2015-16
Royal West of England Autumn Open, Bristol 2014
Royal Birmingham Society of Artists Print Prize, 2014
The Society of Wood Engravers’ 77th Annual Exhibition, touring, 2014-15
Member of the Society of Wood Engravers
Education:
BA Fine Art (Sculpture), Bath Spa University
BA Time-based Media, University of the West of England, Bristol
MA Screenwriting, University of the West of England, Bristol
Recent exhibitions:
Royal West of England Autumn Open, Bristol, 2016
The Society of Wood Engravers’ 79th Annual Exhibition, touring, 2016-17
Royal Birmingham Society of Artists Print Prize, 2016
National Original Print Exhibition, 2016
Liverpool Open, 2016
RE Masters: Relief prints, London, 2015
Royal West of England Autumn Open, Bristol 2015
The Society of Wood Engravers’ 78th Annual Exhibition, touring, 2015-16
Royal West of England Autumn Open, Bristol 2014
Royal Birmingham Society of Artists Print Prize, 2014
The Society of Wood Engravers’ 77th Annual Exhibition, touring, 2014-15