A Story of one Print

Some works of art captivate not by their monumentality, expertise or finésse — although all of these qualities are present in the work at hand — but by the sudden drawing of breath one experiences when one sees the artwork. Curiously enough, I did not experience the artwork in question in real life; but I did look at it for a while from my screen. Amidst writing an academic paper, I found (as one does) myself in a lyrical contemplation of a certain print that stood out from the rest. Below, you will find my attempt, to capture in prose the literal gush (gust?) of inspiration I felt while looking at solely one print.

Stibbon’s art presents another thread in the Romantic vision of the landscape – it is intimate, while being monumental. This aspect can be explored in the print Arctic Valley (2017). In her depiction of the northernmost point of the Norwegian archipelago, Svalbard, Stibbon astutely captures the topography that is typical to the region – the valleys and the ridges. She echoes what the Norwegian scholar Christian Norberg-Schulz comments on the area’s quintessential topography that in many ways defines its people: ‘The Norwegian valley shows that our being in space is determined by a tension of above and below’ (Norberg-Schulz 1996: 32). Thus, life is characterised not solely by the x-axis or the flat expansion, but also by its y-axis and the vertical projection. In her works, the view extends not only ahead but upwards, too: it is both protected by the steep walls and promised a panoramic view that captures the state conveyed by the Norwegian saying of being ‘up in the weather’ — exposed to the forces of nature, thus compromising the consistency of the same panorama (Norberg-Schulz 1996: 32). 

In the print Arctic Valley (2017), the islet of hazy periwinkle blue sky, expressed by the velvet texture of aquatint (a texture that no other printing technique can convey apart from screen print), is gently contrasted with charcoal-clad ridges. However, their angularity is softened by the ethereal white of the snow mantle that diffuses any hostility that the otherwise rigid mountain tops might suggest. The ethereal quality is further emphasised by what appears to be accidental misregistration of the layers on the left mountain peak – the visible rocks on the surface seem to be slightly hovering along the mountain ridge’s contour line. I deem what some may call a flaw a ‘happy accident’, as it only underscores the levity that is conveyed elsewhere in the composition. The snow white is reflected in the patina of thinly yet equally dispersed clouds that hover above the mountains and melt into one another on each side of the rocks, thus, becoming one. The technique of aquatint mirrors the texture of falling snow, as it entails rosin powder being sifted through a fabric mesh (Jennifer L. Roberts, 2020). The accidental transfer of material that would yield a design of the overall composition, as rosin powder travels through ‘air currents’ before settling onto a copper plate (matrix of the print), is eerily close to the process of snow falling onto the surface of the earth or mountain ridges. This creates a stronger link between the represented landscape and the technique used by the artist and emphasises how the scenery came about – the environmental effects that are the cornerstone of Stibbon’s work. As art historian Jennifer L. Roberts describes the process of aquatint herself, ‘like pulling down a cloud and fixing it’ (Roberts, 2020). Considering the subject matter of the print, it precisely reflects this sentiment. The technique lends a quality of haze or mist to the composition. This soft quality translates into a ‘blurring of the edges’ of the overall image, as if coming into focus only at the centre of the composition, creating an overall impression of a mirage. This notion of representing snow and ice-themed landscapes is echoed in one of Stibbon’s interviews, whereby she likens the experience of travelling in Antarctica ‘like passing through this strange ethereal light’ (Drawing Projects UK, 2023). Thus, Stibbon illustrates that an imposing landscape can be shown in a softer light, accentuating its warm and inviting qualities.

Print shown above is ‘Arctic Valley’, 2017, intaglio, aquatint, 41 x 59 cm.