[broken] angel

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This work is based on a portrait of my youngest son.
I went back to the plate over and over, over many years, but was never happy with the image. In the meantime, my son was growing up as I worked his image onto the plate. I only realised when I went back to look at the original versions that, through my working and burnishing and scraping of the plate, not only had the image changed considerably but the boy had grown up.

This work forms part of my '[in]convenient truth' series concerning the tragedy of war. The child's beautiful eyes stand out in contrast to the deliberately left scratch marks, caused through burnishing and scraping of the plate, to underscore the delicate line that divides childhood and innocence from adulthood, and the transition of boys to men.

study for 'broken angel.' 2011
intaglio with aquatint, burnishing and drypoint
printed on 100% Hahnemühle cotton rag paper, 1/1
[25cm x 33cm]
[paper size 35 x 45]

'broken angel.' 2010
intaglio with aquatint, burnishing and drypoint
printed on 100% Hahnemühle cotton rag paper, Edition limited to 2.
[25cm x 33cm]
[paper size 35 x 45]

Etching detail

'broken angels, lost generations and G-d particles', 2012
intaglio with aquatint, burnishing and drypoint
printed on 100% Hahnemühle cotton rag paper, Edition limited to 20.
[25cm x 33cm]
[paper size 35 x 45]