Tools - a series of photo etchings by artist printmaker Clare O Hagan

A tool is described as “an object used to extend the ability of an individual to modify features of the surrounding environment.” In - Tools - a series of hand printed photo etchings, multi layers of meaning are added to this description. These are not the tools of a sales catalogue. They are highly worn, sometimes with missing elements. They speak to years of intimate knowledge and use. I believe this series of work to be a portrait of any person who has used and or appreciated such tools. They evoke the spirit of the person, and stand as equals to traditional portraits. As an artist used to working across disciplines I combined photography with fine art printmaking. Printmaking is a physical, tactile process where we use tools to make images. It was important to me to make and build the images, reflecting their content in addition to working in solidarity with people whose “portraits” are featured here. Joining hands so to speak. I used a photo-etching process: photographed the tools in a studio setting, prepared the plate, printed it in intaglio method (etching) on a press using oil based inks on 250 gms damp paper. I decided to make this series of images in a consistent manner as far as tonality, arrangement and composition to instill continuity across the pictures, yet simultaneously emphasize the vast differences, on large and small scales, between each image. Prints sizes are modest ranging from 20 cm high (about 8 inches) and 45 cms in length (about 18 inches).