Σenu

Act VII           When I think of measurement, I immediately recall the timing charts for acid baths that always hang on the walls of printmaking studios. That is exactly how printmakers measure: we use the time to gauge the depth of etching and the shade it produces on paper, and we use the charts to measure our making. What draws me to these charts is not their functional attributes, but how they faithfully capture the immediacy and presence of the aquatint process as an act of measurement itself.
          I set out to present such an act of measurement—nothing more, and devoid of meaning beyond what occurs between a long silence and an even longer silence. I employed aquatint as a tool for an experimental process. By extensively inviting the participation of machines, objects, and materials, the artist's authority and influence as the measurer are intentionally diminished. Here, the measurement is conceptualised as a game of Ludo: A 3D-printed piece serves as the measurer, and its movement across a laser-cut copper game board is guided by the roll of a dice. Each dice roll determines the piece's position, which is then recorded through the aquatint process. This process is repeated and layered onto copper plates of the same shape until the piece reaches its endpoint.
          The resulting prints are then translated into punched tapes. When they pass through a music box, the prints are transformed into sound. Thus, the act of measurement is conducted and reinforced across different dimensions. It culminates in a performance that can be both heard and seen—a pure focal point of appreciation that lies not in the content, but in the structure; not in the result but in the process. It is a riddle where the question itself is the answer.

Ch, Aug 2024