Big Shoe

Artist Alice Maher (b. Cahir, 1956)

Date1994

MediumEtching and aquatint on paper

Dimensions26.5 x 19.5 cm

ClassificationsPrint

Credit LineCollection & image © Hugh Lane Gallery. Donated by the Graphic Studio Gallery, Dublin, 1998. © Alice Maher.

Object number1942

DescriptionThis is a three colour intaglio print (etching and aquatint) on paper. Here the artist has used a sugar lift to create the big shoe, seen at the top of the print. The artist paints directly onto the plate with a solution of sugar and black ink and then a layer of hard ground is placed on top. The plate is then placed into a bath of warm water, which melts the sugar solution and lifts the ground from that area, therefore, there is no resist in that area. The plate is then covered in aquatint resin and placed into the acid, thus creating tone. The large shoe hovers over the head of an Irish dancer. Her hair is unruly and appears to be blinding her to the overhead danger. There is an ominous shadow behind her.

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