MEDIUM
Photo-intaglio on paper plate

DESCRIPTION
Edition of 25

Please note: the framed option is not available if being sent abroad.

Each print is individually hand printed so each one will differ from the next. There may also be a short wait time as the etchings are printed on demand.

“I took this photo on film on my Hasselblad camera in 2016 when I visited a friend living in San Francisco at the time. Whilst walking through the Presidio national park I came across this clearing in the woods. The midday light was hitting the trees enchantingly. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to take the photo because I thought it wouldn’t do justice to the real scene, but I did take it, and through the framing of the shot- the way it’s entirely filled with foliage from corner to corner – it has taken on a new life separate from the memory I have of that moment. Actually it happens to be one of my favourite photos I’ve ever taken.

When I was at university in Edinburgh I experimented in the print department with photo etching; turning a few of my photographs into plates. I suppose I did this because I missed the physicality of making art when in the photography department. Whilst I developed my own film and made hand prints in the darkroom, it often occurred in a digital-heavy realm. The combination of the physical process of etching and the quality of the result gave the works a sense of depth that I had been missing in photography. I love etchings for the transparency of their messiness. There’s no hiding marks on the plate. In a similar way to the marks on a photographic negative. I like the imperfection of it. I like that each print I make will be different and therefore unique pieces of artwork.

The process to create a photo etching is a laborious one. From embossing the photo onto a metal plate through a chemical process not that is not unlike that of developing film in a darkroom. After a week or so of various development stages, you ink up the plate and roll it through the press. It involves lots of trial and error. Lots of elbow grease. Inking and rolling and scouring. Each print is a labour of love. Each one is different. Individual for its smudges and marks.

For the last five years I’ve wanted to make this photo into an etching, and earlier this year I finally got the chance to create a limited edition. I made the plate as large as I possibly could. This image brings me peace; I can get lost in that leafy scene. I love it for a bedroom or a living room. Some kind of oasis of calm.”

YEAR
2022

DIMENSIONS
Paper size: 68 x 57 cm, Etching: 50 x 50 cm