By Lucy Waldron
The Harris N845, a newspaper printing press in Toowoomba that produced newspapers for Warwick, Stanthorpe, Toowoomba and surrounding regions from 1979 to 2008, will have its final showcase of work at Warwick Art Gallery.
The exhibition, curated by artist Deborah Beaumont, offers a unique glimpse into the materials and artefacts from this bygone era, including newspaper spoilage, printing plates, and large-scale digital prints.
Titled The Harris N845, the exhibition marks a significant return for Deborah to the gallery where her artistic journey began. In 2006, she held her first exhibition at the Warwick Art Gallery, and one of the pieces in this new collection serves as a nod to that initial showcase.
This sentiment along with the printing plates that are specific to the Warwick area was the driving factor for Deborah to return to the space.
“I just thought that this was the place where the work was most relevant and I wanted to revisit the exhibition space,” she said.
Deborah’s fascination with newspaper as a medium began over 25 years ago when she discovered a book titled The Newspaper Everything Book, which explored creative uses for newspaper, such as making furniture and crafts.
This led her to introduce herself to the manager of the Toowoomba Chronicle, where she discovered a wealth of materials that would become central to her art.
Through her exhibition, Deborah aims to highlight the rapid decline of the newspaper printing industry, which has been increasingly overshadowed by the rise of online platforms.
“I treat these newspaper printing plates and other materials as cultural artefacts,“ she said.
“The specific technology of their time is disappearing, and once they’re gone, they’re gone.“
Warwick Art Gallery Director Karina Devine expressed the gallery’s enthusiasm for hosting the exhibition.
“When the Gallery Committee received Deborah’s application in March 2023, we were very interested in the context of the exhibition and the significance of the Harris press to the local media industry,” Karina said.
“We are always keen to present exhibitions that highlight the excellent contemporary art being produced by regional Queensland artists.”
One of the standout pieces in the exhibition is an artwork printed on the very last run of the Harris press.
“The press had been superseded, but the print manager at APN allowed two machinists to return to Toowoomba to print one last artwork for me,“ Deborah said.
“The artwork is in the same format as a tabloid newspaper, featuring images of misprints, torn, or crushed newspapers.“
In a nod to the democratic nature of newspapers, Deborah has made around 400 signed copies of this work available free of charge at the exhibition.
“It was printed for me by APN free of charge, and they are a bit of history, so I just want people to take them and enjoy them however they want to,” she said.
The Harris N845 exhibition will be on display at the Warwick Art Gallery from 29 August until 12 October, with an official opening event on 7 September. For more information and to RSVP for the opening, visit warwickartgallery.com.au.
