Tammy Mackay

Born: 1972 in Cape Town, United Kingdom Lives and Works: London, United Kingdom Tammy Mackay is a contemporary printmaker who specialises in etching, monoprinting and various hand-drawn techniques. The artist studied at Rhodes University in South Africa, completing a Fine Art degree in Printmaking. She now resides in London and has a studio based in Putney.

Tammy Mackay’s Practice

Tammy continually experiments with the printmaking process, most recently working with photopolymer plates and drypoint, as a means to express her ideas. These techniques are often combined with hand drawn or hand coloured chine collé to create uniquely stylised prints such as Rhinoceros (State II), photopolymer (solar plate). Birds and other wildlife play a central role throughout Tammy’s portfolio too. Her illustrative prints of animals are inspired by the artist’s childhood spent growing up on a farm in the Eastern Cape of South Africa. These expressive works of art are, therefore, full of symbolism linked to an object, moment or past memory, richly layered in process as well as in meaning.

Prizes and Exhibitions

Tammy has held exhibitions in the UK and South Africa, as well as taken part in art fairs such as the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, The London Original Print Fair, The Other Art Fair, the Affordable Art Fair and the Brighton Art Fair. A selection of Tammy’s work has been included in the MTN South African National Print Collection while some are permanently exhibited at the Greenwich Printmakers Gallery in London. Tammy was shortlisted for the Rise Art prize in 2018.

EDUCATION

BFA, Rhodes University, South Africa, Grahamstown, South Africa 1994