Tuesday, February 15, 2011


currently on view at Don Soker Gallery in San Francisco







METAMORPHOSIS


There is a twofold meaning for the title of the prints I produced at the SJICA Print Center during my residency there.

Metamorphosis refers to the transformation of the same idea into 6 interrelated images as well as to the process of metamorphosing my concept into a complex statement.

By the simple act of crumpling a sheet of typing paper, as we all do when dissatisfied with the content or our expression of it, I realized the intriguing shape as a potential for exploration. I photographed this object from different angles.  Each shot provided me with varying views; thus more involved information of the object.

I layered these images of the object digitally over each other in a semi-translucent fashion. The resulting images were then ready to be transferred into photo polymer plates or used directly as digital images. As a consequence, the first components for a multiple layer printing were established. To create the other elements of the work I shifted into reverse, from sophistication to the very essential expression: drawing. As a model, I used the same object I photographed. Only this time I concentrated on the inherent isolated quality of the crumpled paper: the curving lines, and made several drawings on copper plates. Depending on the intaglio technique I used, the quality and the strength of the lines vary; some crisp and clear, some soft and graphite-like.

To add yet another dimension to the structure of the work, I drew directly on gampi paper. Looking at the same model, I made 35 unique graphite drawings to be built into the prints by chine colle.

Each of the six prints contains some or all of the described elements in variations, and one among them has within a written text. It is quotations from artists and philosophers whose views are analogues to mine.
 
The finished pieces are layered, printed images, which because of the nature of the medium appear flat. But their concept and execution convey complexity and depth.