5.
Etching
This steel plate is a process of growth and destruction, slowly adding more steps and energy to work closer towards its complete destruction.
When starting to work with this plate last year, I used a screen-etch-resist technique to imprint the photographic image on it, knowing that I would want to work further into it to emphasise the transformation of the image. I wanted to go deeper into the vulnerability of the subject of stored memories and trauma and therefore show the evolution of softness to a more aggressive state, leading to ‘Everything I’ve Ever Been (and more)’.
When starting to work with this plate last year, I used a screen-etch-resist technique to imprint the photographic image on it, knowing that I would want to work further into it to emphasise the transformation of the image. I wanted to go deeper into the vulnerability of the subject of stored memories and trauma and therefore show the evolution of softness to a more aggressive state, leading to ‘Everything I’ve Ever Been (and more)’.
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Writing process with acid
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Taking the etching process on this plate a step further, I decided to start working with a spitbite technique, which can create a quite painterly effect, compared to the harshness of the hardground technique I have been working with before to create very deep marks over the image of the nude body. After doing a few tests of which consistency I wanted the acid to achieve, mixing it with wallpaper past as well as saliva, I started the spitbite process of writing onto the body, creating emotional meaning within the safety that the words are going to liquidise and become unreadable, become one with the body. Within this process, the act of the writing itself became more important than the attachment to its visual end result, with some words becoming more perceptible and others disappering completely.
Etching more and more into this plate, and planning on continuing this process, the goal is for the body image to completely dissapear one day, practicing the acceptance of impermanence.
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Evolution of the destruction of the steel plate
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