Ayr Prison 1905

Muirhead Bone made this etching, Ayr Prison, with a plate measuring about 5 by 7 inches. The first thing that strikes me is the overall tone. It’s like a whispered secret, with the etched lines creating a hazy, almost dreamlike quality. I wonder what Bone was thinking about when he made this? Was he fascinated by the stark reality of the prison, or was he drawn to the play of light and shadow on its imposing facade? Looking at the image, I can imagine Bone, bent over his etching plate, carefully coaxing out the details of the architecture and the figures. The texture of the prison walls, the way the light catches on the edges of the buildings – it all feels so precise, yet there's a looseness too. I love how the clouds have taken on that hazy, tonal affect as well. Artists are always in conversation with one another, and I see echoes of Piranesi in Bone's work. Like Piranesi, Bone seems to be interested in the poetics of space, and maybe also, the weight of history, but that’s just me riffing. For me, this work is about finding beauty in unexpected places and reminds us of the power of art to transform the ordinary into something extraordinary.