Ivana Škvorčević
Academy of Arts in Osijek
Vibrations registered in intaglio printing
Intaglio prints, sound
In her work “Vibrations registered in intaglio printing,” Ivana Škvorčević explores new creative possibilities in the classical medium of graphics. In making the master, she does not use her body in the usual mechanical way, by pressing down the hand when making grooves in the metal plate, but instead records her heartbeat in various psycho-physical situations (e.g. physical exercise, stress). Heartbeat recordings – vibrations created by reproducing sound via speaker – are the main source of modifications that gradually create compositions. In this case, the body is not directly present and provocative as in some examples of body art. Instead, it is a quiet, background generator of the artwork. In the first piece, the author surrenders movements of the drawing needle to heartbeat vibrations, and the thin, fretful lines resemble waves recorded by an electrocardiogram. Such an imprint, registering thicker and denser lines with a recording of the heartbeat under stress, spills into more abstract forms in other graphic experiments. As another important element, the author emphasizes chemical processes used in graphic printmaking, such as the action of salt during a period of three weeks or the action of acid in copper-plate etching. The author compares the corrosion of metal plates with chemical processes taking place in the human body. In this way, Škvorčević puts emphasis on the procedural character of the work, which is subject to outside influences – in this case on “autobiographical” vibrational traces of the pulsating heart.
