To mark its 30th Anniversary in 2012, Australian Print Workshop in Fitzroy commissioned six leading Australian Artists to collaborate with their Printers to produce an ambitious new suite of work in the print medium.

In his series of works for APW’s commission, John Wolseley produced six hand coloured multi-plate lithographs.

From Siberia to the Kimberley – Each year the Wading birds return to the Mangrove Swamp (2012) captures the wetlands of Northern Australia featuring imagery of mangrove swamps teaming with abundant flora and fauna.

Wolseley is one of Australia’s foremost contemporary artists working as a painter, installation artist and printmaker. He was also a feature artist at the 18th Biennale of Sydney in 2012. Born in Somerset in England, he studied at St Martins School of Art from 1957-58, then the Byam Shaw School of Art in London where he specialised in printmaking from 1958 to 1963, and later he continued his studies in Paris.

He lived and worked throughout Europe before relocating to Australia in 1976, where he travelled extensively through the outback. He has been artist in residence at Deakin University in Bendigo and the Art Gallery of Western Australia. He has taught painting in Northern Territory Communities since 1978.

His work is represented by the National Gallery of Australia, Canberra and most state galleries including Parliament House, Canberra; several regional and tertiary collections and internationally in collections in England and Yugoslavia. A monograph of his work was published in 1998.

John Wolseley, From Siberia to the Kimberley – Each year the Wading birds return to the Mangrove Swamp (2012), lithograph with hand colouring. Drawn on the plates by the Artist and printed in an edition of 40 plus proofs by APW Senior Printer Martin King, assisted by APW Printer Chris Ingham at Australian Print Workshop. Acquired for the Yarra City Council Collection in 2013.