Machine Looking at Itself in a 3-Way Mirror 1953

Nella Fermi made this etching, 'Machine Looking at Itself in a 3-Way Mirror', in 1953. Just looking at it I can imagine the artist working the plate, biting into it, proofing it. You can see the marks she made. There’s a kind of tender awkwardness, like a child’s drawing. I love the way she creates this whole world with just a few lines and tones. The checkerboard floor leads the eye right up to the machine, which seems to be trapped in its own reflection. The texture is amazing, like a cross-hatching that gives the image depth and makes it feel almost three-dimensional, despite the linear quality. The subject is so strange too. I mean, what does it mean for a machine to look at itself? It reminds me a bit of some of Picabia’s machine drawings, but much more intimate and maybe even a little sad. The way she treats the different spaces in the composition makes me think of the sets in early Italian films, like a De Chirico painting come to life. It’s a really intriguing and enigmatic print.