Working Method for Time and Voltage
First there is a chance encounter of a heart shaped potato at the bottom of the bag. It is photographed, put away in a dark corner and left to grow. Its digital image is adjusted and multiplied on the computer. One direction is towards a completely digital print, the other is towards a hybrid, a blend of digital and etching. The title is chosen of Time and Voltage and the text within the image is written. It is for a project for Amnesty International for a fundraising print exhibition against torture and for the rights of children. The deadline for the project passes but the image continues to develop. A digital version is sent to a print biennale in Sarcelles France. Its companion is another digital image of a burnt crêpe, The potato's digital image is printed on vellum. A zinc plate is covered with light-sensitive film of puretch and exposed to ultraviolet light through the vellum image. The plate is developed in a 2% solution of sodium carbonate and water leaving the potato heart open for etching. The zinc plate is immersed as an anode in a zinc sulphate solution with another zinc plate as the cathode. A few D.C. volts completes the circuit and in time the plate is electroetched. Metal is lost from open areas and deposited on the cathode. The plate is warmed and a linseed oil based black ink is wiped onto the plate then wiped off. The small ink residue left in the etched potatos is transfered to damp paper through blankets and the pressure of an etching press. Different papers are tried; a white BFK Rives then a warm white Arches Velin. A cold plate is then inked, wiped and the print is darker. Already there are many variables and the image is still evolving. A black and white print is hand colored with water colored ( rehaussée) then digital color is printed together with the inked plate A dessicated digitalised frog joins the composition and then a maple leaf. The maple leaf is erased. A digital yellow ochre ground is added and the other digital colors are adjusted. The final image is ready for editioning.
The process is long but there is time for reflection. The frog touches Galvani, the moon, the potato heart, excesses and transformations.