Aluminium lithographs from life

Life model Roshni visited the studio this week to work on a series of prints together. As a printmaking technique, aluminium lithography is quite immediate – transfering lines to the matrix is fast and captures my gestural approach to drawing. The inking process is also minimal compared to itaglio techniques such as etching, meaning that I was able to draw, prepare and print a number of works across the afternoon, with Roshni sitting in various poses for full body drawings and portraits.

I find that prints hold a certain kind of magic. The marks are made by my hand (as with drawing), yet they are replicated as ghosts, with lines made by pencils, crayons and graphite sticks transformed into ink. The aluminium foil quickly degrades, so most of these pieces are originals, using the printing technique for its visual qualities rather than its reproductive ones.

With 'in person' sittings, the experience of meeting someone and talking with them leaves traces in the images created, a marker of the moment viewed, drawn, and printed.