Juli 1633 - 1643

Curator: Well, if that isn’t a deliciously unnerving character. Just look at "Juli", etched sometime between 1633 and 1643 by Denis Boutemie. I find the figure at once whimsical and menacing. What do you think? Editor: The sheer density of lines, all scratched into that tiny plate to build up such a fearsome figure… it makes me wonder about Boutemie’s workspace. Was he laboring in a chilly, damp studio, pressing these out one by one? Curator: Perhaps. Or maybe in a sun-drenched room with music swirling around him, but I’m choosing to think that each mark embodies a shiver down his spine as he brought this creature into being. That exaggerated stance, the grimace... Editor: Yes, those are all products of labour, Denis had to hold and manipulate tools, engrave and etch lines upon a physical substrate, it seems to me that without his effort and care none of these creative processes can occur. What materials did he use to even create this form? Curator: Certainly a man in love with craft and, of course, the tools. Do you feel like the medium informs its message in this particular etching? I'm thinking, there's something so wonderfully sinister about this almost cute image… the way etching sort of embraces darkness feels uniquely suited here. Editor: Without a doubt. Look closely, you'll notice the network of marks; a close investigation can lead to us finding new clues on its composition. The bite, the ink, the paper. Everything came together with the cooperation of humans to mass produce a commodity with very unique properties that transcends cultures and generations. Curator: Yes, there’s this weird mix of fragility and endurance... it’s unsettling, I am just swept away, a bizarre grotesque that makes me wonder about all those tiny moments we miss every day when we forget to be grateful that we can still appreciate something beautiful. Editor: Well said. "Juli" definitely highlights the strange journey of materiality and reminds us to pause and consider all the different layers that we take in the processes, tools and collaboration of materials from others to come to fruition in the arts.