With “Squares,” I am addressing the interplay between what we know is figurative and that which we imagine to be figurative. It consists of a mix of explicitly figurative plates and more textural abstractions. The plates are six-inch square bleed prints and arranged in a grid whose dimensions vary according to the environment in which they are hung.

The grids encourage constant motion in the viewer’s vision; it is a predatory glance in which the viewer is active in creating/finding/shaping moments and details within the work for herself.

The figurative plates, which derive from observational drawings, depict sections of the body that vary in scale. The viewer quickly recognizes human forms in these plates. This recognition is a satisfying experience, but not altogether empowering for the viewer. Rather the forms are created for the viewer. In contrast, the abstract/textural plates are meant as a resting place. They interrupt the relationship between the images and the body. They exist without recognizable forms and allow for the viewer to define that space on her own and in her own time.

All of the plates were printed in combination with at least one other plate. The overlapping of the images causes the parts of the body to be obscured and to simultaneously create new abstract shapes. In this way, I am looking at the body for it’s shape, yet by using the human form, I am inevitably tapping into the associations beyond just “shape” that we identify and attach to the physical body.

Each square is the result of two to four overlapping zinc plates. The figurative plates are relief etchings while the abstract pattern plates are a result of a process called spit-biting. The papers that I used are a variety of heavy weight etching papers. Some of the plates also use a collage process called chincolle.

-Felicia Garcia-Rivera

Images courtesy the artist.

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