Meta-morphosis V

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Meta-morphosis V (primo)
Etching 76 x 56 cm.

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Meta-morphosis V (secondo)
Etching 76 x 56 cm.

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Meta-morphosis V (terzo)
Etching 76 x 56 cm.

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Meta-morphosis V (Passages)
Etching 76 x 56 cm.

Meta-morphosis IV

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Meta-morphosis IV (Primo)
Etching & Drypoint 76 x 56 cm.

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Meta-morphosis IV (Secondo)
Etching 76 x 56 cm.

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Meta-morphosis IV (Terzo)
Etching 76 x 56 cm.

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Meta-morphosis IV (Passages)
Etching & Drypoint 76 x 56 cm.

Statement: Meta-morphosis series

The Meta-morphosis series (1994 – 1998) was made using the etching process as one that can imitate weathering and aging processes. The prefix “meta”, a chemistry term, refers to the use of acids and salts, or the organic derivative of an acid; “morphosis” is a change, transformation or degeneration. Printmaking allows for stages in the series to become visible, as each plate was printed at certain stages in its degeneration.

Both Meta-morphosis I and II reveal on the one print the several stages of the image as it metamorphoses. In Meta-morphosis III to XII, each stage stands alone. These stages are subtitled the primo, or first state, which was followed by a progression of deep etches, printed to produce the secondo (second) state, and deeply etched again to form the terzo (third) state. A fourth set of variations is subtitled Passages, in which each of the three states of a plate were printed as layers over each other on the same sheet of paper.

The Meta-morphosis prints reveal a multiple life in which every stage in their degeneration is important. They are images of forms becoming aged to disintegration, the origins of the images becoming uncertain, their disparate forms merging but not absorbed. As prints they exist as stills from a moving process. As a series they draw attention to the continual morphing and weathering of form.

Meta-morphosis III

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Meta-morphosis III (Primo)
Etching 75 x 56 cm.

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Meta-morphosis III (Secondo)
Etching 75 x 56 cm.

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Meta-morphosis III (Terzo)
Etching 75 x 56 cm.

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Meta-morphosis III (Passages)
Etching 75 x 56 cm.

Mirror Image I & II

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Mirror Image I
Etching
34 x 25 cm.

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Mirror Image II
Etching
34 x 25 cm.

These are variations on Meta-morphosis I & Meta-morphosis II.

Meta-morphosis II

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Meta-morphosis II
Etching & Embossing
120cm x80cm

This edition was printed at the same time as Meta-morphosis I , using the same copperplate repeatedly etched and reprinted.

Meta-morphosis I

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Meta-morphosis I
Etching, Collagraph & Woodcut
80cm x 120cm

I started with one copperplate of a cracked mirror on the left. After printing it on several pieces of paper (to make the edition), I added an image of a face, etched it some more, printed again… and kept on etching and printing to end with the right image. The last printing was the woodcut and collagraph (collaged textures glued onto the wood and inked). The uninked wood textures gave an embossing that does not show in this photo.

The Meta-morphosis series is partly about this process of continually etching and breaking down the copperplate and the image.

An artists’ statement will be posted soon!

posting images

I have been planning for some time to put up images of my older series of works on this site but have been delayed getting them ready. When I originally scanned the slides several years ago, the technology was not as good as it is today, so the colours are really not very true to the originals. The delay is in getting access to a much more superior scanner at the studio to rescan them. In the meantime, I decided to start posting a few that I have tried to correct as best as I can for now, and will replace them later with better ones.

These works that I will be posting are part of a very large series of etchings called META-MORPHOSIS.