Artwork
New Empire (Araucaria Araucana II)
New Empire (Araucaria Araucana II) is an ink print by Andrew Curtis. It dates from 2009 and is held in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum.
About this work
The painting is called New Empire (Araucana Araucana II) by Andrew Curtis.
It was created in 2009 as part of a graduate prize. The Jealous Print Studio awarded Andrew Curtis a residency, where he made this print. This residency was a unique opportunity for Curtis to work with the studio team.
You can learn more about this and other prints at the Victoria and Albert Museum.
Overview
New Empire (Araucaria Araucana II) is a screenprint produced in 2009 by Andrew Curtis while he was a graduate student at the Royal College of Art. The work was created during a residency awarded by Jeopard Print Studio as part of its Graduate Prize, a programme that offers a print‑studio placement to one MA Fine Art graduate from each of eight leading London art schools.
Subject & Meaning
The image references the Araucaria araucana, a conifer native to South America, juxtaposing the tree’s resilient form with the notion of an empire in transition. By pairing botanical imagery with a title suggesting political or cultural dominance, the print invites reflection on the persistence of natural forms amid shifting human structures.
Technique & Style
Executed as a screenprint, the piece employs layered stencils to build dense tonal fields and crisp outlines. Curtis’s approach combines precise line work with subtle gradations of ink, creating a graphic yet atmospheric surface that emphasizes both the texture of bark and the abstracted geometry of the composition.
History & Provenance
The print was part of the limited edition produced during Curtis’s residency at Jeopard Print Studio. After its completion, the edition was donated by the studio to the Victoria and Albert Museum’s print collection, where it remains catalogued as part of the institution’s holdings of graduate‑prize works.
Context
Jeopard Print Studio’s Graduate Prize, inaugurated in 2009, selects one MA Fine Art graduate from each of eight major London colleges—including the Royal Academy, Goldsmiths, Camberwell, Central Saint Martins, the Slade, Chelsea, Wimbledon, and the Royal College of Art. The award provides an all‑expenses‑paid studio residency, enabling emerging artists to produce a new limited‑edition print that is later exhibited collectively and entered into the V&A collection.
Artist & collection
Artist
Andrew Curtis’s screenprints feel like a botanist’s daydreams slipping into a sci-fi flick.
