Fossil Foreshore Triptych to go on show at Lyme Museum

Michael Blooman at work on his Albion Press. Picture: CONTRIBUTED (Image: Archant)

A new exhibition showcasing the work of artist and Uplyme resident Michael Blooman is opening soon at Lyme Regis Museum

The Fossil Foreshore Triptych, will go on show from September 8 until October 31.

It consists of three large linocut limited edition prints produced on an Albion Press dating from about 1850, used originally to print posters.

The press weighs over a ton, and creating each print was a painstaking process as each one had to go through the press twelve times.

Visitors will be able to watch this creative process thanks to a video that Michael has produced to accompany the exhibition.

Michael said: “I’ve been captivated by the uplifted strata and shale of the Jurassic cliffs in Pinhay Bay just west of Monmouth Beach, finding a primeval solitude there which inspired my Fossil Foreshore Triptych.”

Director of Lyme Regis Museum David Tucker added: “One of the Fossil Foreshore original prints can be seen on permanent display at the museum, so we’re delighted to be able to exhibit the Triptych and related watercolour studies in the Rotunda - and delighted too that visitors will be able to enjoy them against the stunning backdrop of the Jurassic Coast from which Michael drew inspiration.”

* Michael Blooman has been a frequent visitor to the area since the 1980s using his brother’s cottage in Lyme Regis as a second studio before moving to Uplyme in 2004.

He first exhibited in London in 1975 and since has had exhibitions at Snape Maltings, Aldeburgh; Beecroft Art Gallery, Southend; Mercury Theatre, Colchester; The Town Mill, Lyme Regis; Dolphin Gallery, Colyton; The Maeldune Heritage Centre, Maldon; The Bhutan Society, London. His work is in public collections including Lyme Regis Museum. See more at www.michaelblooman.co.uk