These prints examine two of our important relationships, first with the environment and second with other human beings.
The first relationship is embodied in the monotype prints, which are by their very nature unique, expressive, spontaneous, and intangible. These qualities allow me to create prints that are unpredictable but that include a sense of gravity, darkness and light. The engravings, on the other hand, are calculated and repeatable. The copper plates resist the engraving and require physical effort, the actual removal of material. Engraving is often used for official documents and is embedded in traditions that have developed since the 16th c. Similarly our human relationships require some stability, formality and constancy. I explore these characteristics by using the engravings to create bisymmetrical prints, in which the repetition creates a pattern that soothes the mind and reminds us of the basic structure of our bodies.
Ultimately, we cannot have one relationship without the other. The environment is exciting and nourishing, we depend on it but must also learn to survive in it. We must respect nature because it gives us life and if it is mistreated it can take our lives away. We need the stability of human relationships so as to be able to explore nature and through this exploration we create beautiful things in human minds.