Artwork
Caravaggio
Caravaggio is a print by Dawes Gray. It dates from 2011 and is held in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum. The work is a small square print measuring 30 by 30 centimetres, produced in 2011 as part of a collective edition of forty pieces.
About this work
The set is called The ELP Box, and every year they make a new box of prints to support their members’ careers and fund more classes for the public.
This print came out in 2011 and it’s a small square piece, one of forty made that year by a group of artists in London. It was published by East London Printmakers, a workshop that helps artists share work and learn printmaking together.
The set is called The ELP Box, and every year they make a new box of prints to support their members’ careers and fund more classes for the public.
Check out the Victoria and Albert Museum.
Overview
The work is a small square print measuring 30 by 30 centimetres, produced in 2011 as part of a collective edition of forty pieces. It belongs to the annual ELP Box series, a set of limited‑edition prints issued by East London Printmakers, a cooperative of artists based in Hackney, London.
Subject & Meaning
The image does not depict a narrative scene; rather, it functions as a representative example of the individual artist’s practice within the collaborative framework of the collective. Its purpose is to document the range of work generated by members during that year and to provide a tangible record of the group’s activity.
Technique & Style
Created using printmaking methods available through the East London Printmakers workshop, the piece reflects the technical standards of contemporary small‑scale print production. The format—square, modestly sized, and uniformly printed—ensures consistency across the edition while allowing each contributor’s stylistic choices to emerge within the shared parameters.
History & Provenance
The print was issued in the 2011 edition of the ELP Box, an initiative that archives members’ output and circulates it to a wider audience. Sales proceeds support professional development for the artists, and a limited number of copies are donated to public institutions; the Victoria and Albert Museum holds a copy of this edition.
Context
East London Printmakers, founded in 1998, operates as an independent collective offering studio space, equipment, and educational programmes. The annual boxed set serves both as a promotional tool for the group’s activities and as a funding mechanism for its workshops, reinforcing the cooperative’s role in sustaining printmaking practice in the local community.
Artist & collection
Artist
Dawes Gray probably spent more time in the print shop than the classroom—his 2011 screenprint Caravaggio isn’t a copy, it’s a riff, swapping Baroque chiaroscuro for gritty halftone dots.
