Delta 2020

Pavlo Makov made this print, Delta, using etching techniques, layering images and marks to create a kind of symbolic map. The texture is amazing - you can see the plate tone, the way the ink sits on the paper, almost like a memory. It's not about hiding the process; it’s all about the evidence of doing. I love the central image, like a river or a vein, smudged with a fiery red, as though the city is alive with blood or electricity! Then there are these architectural forms, like little buildings or monuments, each with its own character, all linked up by lines. The overall effect reminds me of the work of Piranesi, who also used etching to create these fantastical, impossible spaces. Both artists share an interest in using the image to suggest multiple possibilities and meanings, inviting us to wander through them, and encouraging us to get lost.