Artwork
Some Late Wayfarer
Some Late Wayfarer is an ink print by Ann-Marie James. It dates from 2012 and is held in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum.
About this work
This print comes from a yearly contest for new art school grads. Jealous Print Studio runs the contest. Each winner makes a small print during a paid studio stay.
Only eight artists win each year. One is picked from eight big London schools. Ann-Marie James won in 2012 from Wimbledon College of Arts.
See more prints like this at the Victoria and Albert Museum.
Overview
The Jealous Print Studio Graduate Prize, established in 2009, selects one emerging artist annually from each of London’s eight leading fine art institutions.
The Jealous Print Studio Graduate Prize, established in 2009, selects one emerging artist annually from each of London’s eight leading fine art institutions. Winners receive a fully funded residency to produce a limited-edition screenprint under the studio’s guidance. Each year’s cohort of prints is exhibited collectively, and all editions are donated to the V&A’s permanent print collection, ensuring broad institutional preservation of early-career work.
Subject & Meaning
Ann-Marie James’s 2012 print reflects her interest in layered visual memory and the fragmentation of historical imagery. Drawing from archival photographs and painterly gestures, the work interrogates how identity and time are constructed through repeated visual references. The imagery is neither literal nor narrative, but evokes the residue of forgotten moments through abstraction and texture.
Technique & Style
Executed as a screenprint, the work employs multiple transparent layers to build subtle tonal shifts and overlapping textures. James combines precise registration with deliberate imperfections, allowing ink to bleed slightly at edges, introducing a sense of instability. The palette is restrained, favoring muted earth tones and pale washes that recall faded photographs, reinforcing the theme of temporal decay.
History & Provenance
Created during James’s residency at Jealous Print Studio in 2012, the print was produced as part of the annual graduate prize initiative. It was among the first editions donated to the V&A’s collection under the program’s ongoing commitment to archiving emerging print practices. The work entered the museum’s holdings as part of a curated group representing the year’s eight winners.
Context
The prize emerged as a response to the growing importance of printmaking in contemporary fine art education. By partnering with major art schools and offering professional studio access, Jealous aimed to elevate printmaking beyond craft into conceptual practice. The initiative provided a rare platform for recent graduates to produce museum-quality work with institutional backing.
Legacy
The Jealous Graduate Prize has become a consistent reference point for early-career printmakers in the UK. Its donation of all editions to the V&A ensures long-term scholarly access and historical continuity. Ann-Marie James’s contribution remains part of this archive, representing a moment when emerging artists were given direct access to professional printmaking infrastructure and institutional recognition.
Artist & collection
Artist
Ann-Marie James makes layered screenprints like *Some Late Wayfarer* (2012) that mix found images with hand-drawn shapes.
