Duncan Dempster was born and raised in Honolulu and received his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California, Santa Cruz in 1994 and his Master of Fine Arts degree in printmaking from the University of Hawai'i, Manoa in 1999. He is currently a lecturer in printmaking and expanded arts at the University of Hawai'i, Manoa.

Dempster's works in this exhibition are etchings printed from zinc plates. A number of materials and techniques were used to generate the plate surfaces including litho crayon, ink transfer, photopolymer, rub-on letters, traditional hardground resists, aquatint and drypoint. Dempster states:"I am primarily interested in the material properties of the worked plate and resulting print . .. and in isolating simple, strong forms through this syntax." He imagines the process of printmaking to be raw and violent on a microscopic scale.The plate can be compared to a landscape that shows the effects of time and weather. In this way, the plate is a recording device which Dempster likens to a vinyl record used for recording sound. In his Versions 1 to 24, a common motif is replicated through modulation to generate echoes and visual rhythms.The visual occurrences on the paper can be thought of as sounds created by repetition and tone.They also reference the microscopic world. States 1 to 6 work with simple shapes against which texture and surface are developed to create strong, iconic forms.