Studies - Finished

About two weeks ago I finished the studies I had experimented with all summer. At some point I thought they might just stay in the 'sketch' stage, but after all the work I put into the experiments, I was hoping to get a few finished pieces out of all the plates I etched and I'm happy I did. I got six different successful compositions with the image elements I used. The layering of imagery is still quite challenging for me, but I also got some unpredictable results with the interaction of figures and forest, for example, that create an interesting relationship between the two. I played with imagery of the disappearing forests in Paraguay, the idea of enclosure and private property through the building of fences, people's displacement through large land grabs, cut off pathways and separations. My general topic is still the changing landscapes in the Paraguayan Chaco due to growth, expansion and destruction in the area.
I haven't titled any of the prints yet, so at this point I call them studies. The top three are 45.5cm 45.5cm each and the bottom three are 30cm x 30cm. (They work better horizontally, hanging side by side because they create a kind of continuity rather than being displayed in this vertical format. Click on one image to enlarge and view as slideshow).