Perseus Beheading Medusa, III 1944

André Racz made this intaglio print, Perseus Beheading Medusa, III, with ink on paper. It's a scene playing out in black and white, a process of layering and wiping. There's a real push and pull, a tension between the darks and lights. The forms are blurred and indistinct, like figures in a dream or a memory. I'm thinking about how Racz may have worked with the plate, the pressure of his hand, the way he built up the image through multiple states. Take the shapes at the bottom, are they rocks, bodies or just amorphous forms, and how do they create a sense of depth and texture? It makes me think of Goya's dark prints, the way he used aquatint to create a sense of dread and unease. It feels like an ongoing conversation across time, about the power of images to evoke emotions and tap into our deepest fears. Ultimately, the piece is about ambiguity. It's an invitation to engage with the work, to bring our own experiences and interpretations to it.