Arborescent, 2023

Hahnemüle 300g printmaking papers

Seven natural white printmaking papers hang from the ceiling of the gallery space, positioned by two large windows. Each paper is attached to a small metal surface speaker. The papers hang from white cables connected to the surface speakers, descending from the ceiling structure at a height of six meters. The papers are installed to leave enough room to walk between them. They can be observed from a distance or entered into as part of the artwork. The gallery’s air conditioning, as well as the gentle air currents caused by people’s movements, keep the papers in slight motion. They sway slowly within the space, occasionally coming to a halt. The papers’ rotating movement, combined with natural light and exhibition lighting, constantly cast the engraved areas in different angles and lighting conditions. The artwork is active; it moves and transforms. The papers shimmer, sometimes subtly, other times more strongly. Periodically, momentary higher-intensity vibrations travel through the otherwise lightly resonating papers, as if a gust of wind briefly catches them and passes through them from different directions. When one brings their ear close to the paper, a low-frequency, soft sound can be heard. The papers bear engraved marks on both sides. The marks are made from microscopic images of pine and beech wood, guiding a laser to burn the paper’s surface. The darkened, burned, and thinned areas of the paper sparkle as sunlight filters through them. The papers used in the artwork are Hahnemühle 300g printmaking papers, torn into 54×76 cm sizes. German pine and Slovakian beech were used in their production. The engraved areas are coloured by the laser burning the paper’s surface, without the addition of pigments or any other extra substances. There is only paper; pure, engraved, burnt. Trembling like the aspen leaves.

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