Mel Hartigan – When A Stranger Calls

Mel Hartigan
When A Stranger Calls, 2026

Etching and drypoint with hand-coloured chine collé
Edition of 10 + 2 A/P
Image Size 39×29.5cm / Paper Size 46×38cm

Artist Statement
Etching is a natural extension of my illustrative practice, allowing me to construct and develop my grotesque creatures. Through varied line, I evoke a sense of weight and three-dimensional form. My prints retain an intentional sketchbook quality, preserving the energy and emotion of their initial conception despite their development through multiple iterations. Titled after the 1979 film, When A Stranger Calls reflects a recurring internal monologue with my avian hybrid “Anie” as its central protagonist.

A long-time admirer of George Baldessin’s work, my relationship with the Baldessin Studio has been brief but transformative. A recent studio sponsorship and representation at the 2026 Melbourne Art Print Fair has cemented printmaking as a key component of my ongoing practice.

Mel Hartigan (b.1976)  is an emerging multidisciplinary artist living and working on the unceded lands of Naarm/Melbourne, Australia. Their practice encompasses mixed-media sculpture, etching, illustration, and animation. Through hybrid avian, reptilian, and food-based monstrosities, Hartigan constructs enigmatic narratives informed by satire, analogue creature design, and their lived experience of dysphoria.

@melhartigan.artist
www.melhartigan.com