Theadora Ballantyne-Way

Theadora Ballantyne-Way’s imagery is partly informed by electronic club culture and her previous occupation as a visual jockey (VJ), producing collaborative live, visual performances. Working primarily in printmaking and photomontage, her artistic practice is also heavily influenced by the Surrealist movement and the concept of animism - the belief that objects possess a distinct spiritual essence or soul.

Many of Theadora’s limited edition prints are made using the Polymer Gravure process; printed from solar plates, these works feature the velvety texture and antiquated feel of traditional etchings. In her dystopian compositions, the artist takes domestic objects - such as the Philippe Starck-designed Alessi lemon squeezer - transforming them into monumental, industrial components or extraterrestrials. Her witty re-purposing of these middle-class icons within fictional landscapes is as much a critique of consumer habits as it is a celebration of the surreal – as well as a playful take on the rich history of the English pastoral. In the artist’s words:

‘In some of my depictions, these objects’ ominous presence looms large and can only be interpreted as impending doom; the beginning of the end. In other scenes, they symbolise a beacon of hope in the midst of chaos, emerging from the hazy smog of a battlefield to save humanity, but nonetheless a forewarning of upheaval to come.’

Theadora graduated with an MA in Multidisciplinary Printmaking from the University of the West of England in 2019. Her work has been widely exhibited in the UK, including at the International Original Print Exhibition at Bankside Gallery, London, and the Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition, London, on several occasions. She has also exhibited in Kyoto, Japan with Goldsmiths University in 2019 and won first prize at the Royal Birmingham Society of Artists Print Prize in 2022. Her work has been included in publications including Printmaking Today and is held in several notable collections including the V&A Museum, London, and the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford. Theadora is also the director of Argento Editions, a fine art studio where she works with internationally renowned artists to realise their printmaking ambitions.

We are delighted to be presenting new work by Theadora at the Woolwich Contemporary Print Fair (21 - 24 November 2024). Please contact us to register your interest in Theadora’s prints.