Bei der Vogelscheuche 1958

Walter Rauch made this print, Bei der Vogelscheuche, which translates as ‘At the scarecrow’, using etching, a process that can give such incredible detail. The image feels like a dark fairy tale, with its strange figures and dreamlike atmosphere. Look closely, and you'll see the landscape built up from thousands of tiny marks. Etching allows for such precision, but here it's used to create an almost chaotic feel, a sense of something overgrown and slightly menacing. The scarecrow figure itself is fascinating, a strange combination of human and organic forms, with its leafy head and outstretched arm. Consider the way the figures below nestle into the earth, how they seem to belong to the landscape in a way the scarecrow doesn’t. Rauch really lets the process lead the way here, the ink seems to have a life of its own. This reminds me a bit of Max Ernst, whose work also explores the darker side of the imagination through experimental techniques. It’s a conversation that stretches across time, this exploration of the strange and uncanny.