Maya Srinivasan ’22. “Disregulation,” 2019. Hard ground, etching, engraving and aquatint on Hahnemühle.
13” x 10”
This is my favorite piece that I made in my Introduction to Print Media course last semester. The class focused on the Intaglio style of printing, which involves engraving and etching copper plates before printing onto paper. The printing process is interesting in that hours of meticulous work are put into developing a plate, but the artist never truly knows what it will look like until the final moments on the printing press. A lot of the best work often comes as a surprise.
That was the case with this piece. It was initially a simple engraving from a separate series where my thesis was the mindful construction and deconstruction of consciousness through natural imagery. The final piece of this series entailed me literally destroying the copper plates used to make these prints and altering them through a process called aquatinting. On a whim, I placed five of the altered plates together, creating this entirely new print. The resulting chaos of disjointed forms and textures disrupted the mindful message of the first iteration. I was reminded of the idea of dysregulation, where the emotions a person experiences become heightened, overwhelming and unmanageable, which gave me the inspiration for the name of the piece.
Editor’s Review: Brian Lu ’23
“Disregulation” paints a picture of turmoil and conflict; reminiscent of “The Great Wave off Kanagawa,” the contrasting curves and lines seem to clash and struggle in parts, yet seamlessly merge in others. The accidental fit of the individual pieces also has a natural beauty, like many unintentional creations do. As this piece of work is particularly complex in its shapes and fragments, I particularly liked the artist’s decision to keep a monochrome palette, as it allowed me to fully appreciate its abstract intricacy.
Brian Lu is a freshman in the College of Arts and Sciences. He can be reached at blu@cornellsun.