à peine, 2020-2025, series of etchings on 12 gsm Bib Tengujô paper, variable print runs depending on each etching, limited edition
I choose the finest supports Tengujo papers of 12, 9 and 6 gsm in order to bring our their delicacy and fragility in the printing process. I use the technic of etching to achieve à deep and precise bite in the line. I favour a simple stripped-back, and rigorous visual language, repeating lines without thickness and without any search for tonal variation. I incise by pushing the tool foward, sensing it as an extension of my hand despite its rigidity.
The repetition of the gesture allows me to endure the resistance of the copper, its permanence, into which I inscribe my mark. Each line gives rise to another. The body physically experiences each trace and marks time through intervals and spacing. I let myself be carried by this wandering of the line, in which the unforeseen becomes the rule. At times, opposing movements meets and create tensions. As the surface approaches saturation, unexpected graphic flowss and pathways begin to emerge. The whole becomes an ultra-thin texture with vibrating variations.
During printing, the strong pressure of the press brings the matrix and the support into contact. The adhesion between paper and plate compels me to remove the sheet very slowly, like a shedding of skin. What I then discover is a transformed paper, more supple and deeply moulded. Through the embossing process, recto and verso are printed simultaneously. What is on the front is found on the reverse ; there is no longer any fixed side. A play of transparency reveals both the fineness of the paper and its fragility. The print becomes a thin, quivering membrane sensitive and vibratory. It acts as reactive surface to the slightest displacement of air. Like a sensor, this delicate membrane makes visible invisible pressures and records what escapes touch by receiving the movement of the world.