Title: Dressing Up In the Ituri Forest #1 out of 15

About the Work:

Each image explores the tension of being both inside and outside of society in the Congo where I grew up.

My childhood dress was fluffy and fun expressing the simplicity and innocence of childhood, in contrast with the danger, fear and uncertainty that marked my survival as a little girl during an escape from an uprising in the Congo.

This is an original soft ground etching, from a varied edition of fifteen, this piece is #1 out of 15, on 100% Somerset rag printmaking paper. It is 11x15in with the image bleeding off all four edges. 

About the Soft Ground Etching Technique:

The subtle details of fabric are transferred to a metal plate using a tacky soft ground. The metal plate is then heat set and exposed to an etching mordant of copper sulphate and salt that etches the image into the metal. The plate is hand-wiped with etching ink, the colour is applied using a stencil and the image is transferred to paper using a hand-operated etching press.

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Karen Cornelius holds the Copyright on all her artwork. No image may be reproduced for any reason without the consent of the artist.