Life Dust
Hand bound artist book (Thirty etchings and screenprint on Hahnemühle)
13 cm x 14 cm x 4,5 cm
Artist’s Statement
The work Life Dust encapsulates the chapters of one’s life into a finite space of interaction. Where memories come into fruition and grow, then fade as life does.
Memories bound within the boundaries of the book allow the viewer to obsess over what is to come. Will it grow into something more? Or, will it fade into oblivion and be lost to the pages of the past? This is what was negotiated through the process of making; this anxiety was felt. Once a new moment was inscribed upon the surface of the plate, it could not be returned to its previous form, and one had to negotiate with that new creation (as one negotiates with memory). Such is life and the realities of memory. Remembering, and re-remembering, creates re-inscription and creation each time anew until there is nothing left, or so much that it becomes something so different from the original. The once sharp lines start to fade, become obscured, or are defined into something unrecognisable. This is shown through the reworking of each memory, each plate on its own journey through time. The work begins with a central memory, grounded and staid, although just coming into fruition, no depth, no tone. This is shown through distinct linework etched deep into the surface of the memory. Often, the outlines of memory are what come first. This memory then comes into fruition, grows within itself and gains depth. New aspects are remembered and superimposed within the image. This is done through the introduction of aquatints and more textured, shading lines. The memory then wilts and falls away and is only defined by a single thread, taught with the tension of its own potential loss. It becomes blurred and is erased into the deep recesses of one’s mind, yet it flickers into traces of ourselves each day. This is shown through stages of processes of aquatints, open biting and working over with soft grounds. This interplay is not something that happens to us, but is a way for us all to craft our moment. To craft this breath of time, we have to experience within the barraging continuum of time. Echoes of our past selves recur in our everyday lives, the dust of our lives.
Gallery
Click on image to enlarge
