Photo Etching

25/06/19

12x 3.5×4.5cm photo etched plates.

The process of photo etching starts out with an image on acetate much like in photopolymer, but after exposing the image to the photo sensitive plate it’s then etched in nitric acid. The plate is zinc, which a photo emulsion, unlike the much more delicate plates of photopolymer. This time I edited the photos and put a bitmap of my choosing on them. I am pleased to have made that call for myself rather than relying on someone else to do that part of the process.

I used one plate to produce all these passport sized images so they would all be identical and make the process of producing them a lot easier. Once it’s been in the acid for approximately 2 minutes to open bite the image, it then gets an aquatint and further time in the acid. This is process that I relied on the technician to help with because it’s hard to see what the acid is doing. But I’m learning what to look for on the metal.

On reflection it should have been double aquatinted because I’m finding it hard not to wipe out the ink from the plates, but I’m feeling this is a part of each image being slightly unique and actually fits my brief for this piece.

We cut each image out once they’d been etched. I spent a lot of time getting the edges of my plate smooth s o that there would be a deep edge to each small plate. I want them to be reminiscent or passport images, fixed identity. Then each one is different, suggesting that identity actually isn’t fixed.