Title: Iris
Medium: Hand coloured etching on paper
Signed and dated: 1997
Unframed: 102cm x 79cm
Framed: 150cm x 120cm
“You may start with a charcoal drawing of an iris flower but at some stage the copper and acid or the acrylic sheet and the engraving tools impose their own scenario much as characters in a play or film” – William Kentridge (Simmons 2018:1).
Iris is a drypoint on acrylic, with a torn paper plate and a further hand-coloured plate. The iris is many times larger than life with rich colouring making an immensely powerful image. These prints used the medium of intaglio not just as a means of replication but as a medium of such flexibility as to rival painting (Simmons 2018:1).
