Ancestors 1953

Dorothy Dehner made this etching called 'Ancestors' back in '53, and I'm thinking about her, hunched over the metal plate, dragging that needle to create all those dark lines. It's like she's conjuring a whole tribe of beings – totems, masks, spirits of the past. I feel like she’s digging deep into her own subconscious, searching for these ancestral figures. They all stare back at you, but each one has its own strange little world contained in its face. The way she layers the lines, some are scratchy and raw, others are smooth and deliberate, it gives the print this incredible depth and texture, like you could almost reach out and touch the faces. I’m thinking of other artists who work with the figure like Louise Bourgeois, or maybe some of those early Expressionists. Artists have always been fascinated with faces. We are all constantly borrowing, stealing and reworking ideas – that's how we keep the conversation going. It's a constant dance of influence and inspiration!