Their current body of work, Cohabitation Chronicles, has from the start combined imagery of flora and fauna found in the ecosystems that make up backyards, neighbourhoods and open spaces. In this new world of climate breakdown the radical intent always inherent in their work now focusses on the loss of habitat and species extinction. Using relief, etching, drypoint, and monotype Sandra and Fanny create the plates for their prints. Sometimes they work on the same plate, like with the large linoleum print, Lulu’s Evening Walk, and their monotypes. At other times they each create plates that are printed together to form multi-color etchings, or side by side as diptychs. When printing they add chine collé shapes to the print which often interrupt the image, jarring the natural landscape and referencing the impact of humans on the natural landscape and other species. Fanny and Sandra’s first collaboration was the opening of Magpie Studios in 2002 when both lived in San Jose, California. Soon after, they began creating prints together in the studio. When Magpie Studios split into Magpie South in Adelaide and Magpie North in Stanford, California, the collaborations became more cherished, and surprisingly more frequent. A rhythm of working and direction came naturally, and their individual styles combined to form something altogether new. When possible, Sandra and Fanny work together during extended visits. When they can’t get together, they send prints back and forth across the Pacific. Retsek exhibits internationally and her prints are in collections that include Fine Art Museums, San Francisco and Oakland Museum of Art. She was the master printer at the San Jose Institute of Art Print Center and a former printer at Crown Point Press. Starkey Simon is a full-time artist/printmaker after previously pursuing an art practice and university teaching career in the United States and Australia. Her work is collected and exhibited internationally.
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