Chain Gang 1940 - 1941

James Baare Turnbull made this print, Chain Gang, in 1941. The black and white shades give this the tone of an old photograph, bringing the scene to life. I wonder, what does it feel like to be Turnbull, etching this image into being? Maybe he’s outside, just like these workers, feeling the heat of the sun beating down on him, beads of sweat dripping as he labors at his art. He’s hunched over this metal plate, working it over and over. The marks are laid down one at a time, and start to form the shape of these figures with their axe. It feels raw and full of energy. I look at that tree stump and the felled hat, and can almost feel Turnbull sympathizing with these poor souls, wondering what might have been, had they not ended up here. The whole composition has a kind of cyclical echo to it. We go round and round, tree to pulp, pulp to paper, image to viewer, and back again.