AN EXHIBITION of wood engraving is currently on display in North Yorkshire.

The Society of Wood Engravers has brought its International Annual Exhibition to the Zillah Bell Gallery in Thirsk.

The exhibition will be arriving at the North Yorkshire gallery straight after its tenure at London’s Bankside Gallery, where it will remain until March 29.

Wood engraving involves etching designs or pictures in reverse onto a mirror-smooth block of wood, so they can be used for printmaking.

Each year the society holds a contest for wood engravers worldwide, selecting 100 of the best works and putting them together in an exhibition. This year’s display includes more than 140 original prints from the UK and Japan.

One of those whose work is included in the exhibition is Paul Kershaw from Ripon and Alastair Lovett, from Durham, whose work concentrates on the marks people make on their environment and the degeneration of structures over time.

Work by Chris Daunt, from Gateshead will also feature. After studying Fine Art at Newcastle Polytechnic and an English degree at the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, he spent four years as a Cistercian monk on the Scottish borders.

He now makes his living principally as an illustrator, specialising in wood engraving, wood and linocut.

The exhibition will remain at the gallery on Kirkgate in Thirsk until March 29.