The prints are done on a beautifully textured handmade paper that adds to the old world look and feel. The paper’s high level of absorbency requires particular skill to achieve the correct balance of ink and color. “Handmade paper has its own characteristics” says Antoon. “You need to smell it, touch it, sleep with it, and bend it, to know what it is. It is truly a challenge to properly print on such a unique media – definitely not for the faint of heart.”

Antoon believes that the mind of a printer must be perfectly aligned with both the artist he is working with and the medium he is printing on. Printing as an art form, with the medium not subordinate but intrinsic to the artwork, is crucial to their collaboration. A rare relationship, where two artists are so sure of their own skills and each other’s inherent talents, that they are able to realize a vision transcending what each alone could achieve.

Working with Chris, frame designer Michael Fitzsimmons has created a multi dimensional presentation inspired by Italian renaissance manors and British Empire gentleman’s clubs which give a classic look while recalling a bygone era.

The process begins by hand deckling each print to highlight the natural edge of the handmade paper. It is then raised above the warm white cotton rag matting creating a subtle shadow. An inner frame of rustic ivory with a warm silver lip separates the gallery glass from the art leaving an archival space for expansion and contraction of the print. The outer frame is a combination of a Bolognese and Spanish “elephant’ carving in a richly patinated bronze which echoes the aged platinum tones in the photographs.

The finished ensemble brings the common ancestry of the African plains to a 21st century aesthetic of conservation and preservation of this priceless ecosystem.

Resources:
Antoon Taghon (ufapstudio.com)
Westwood Gallery (westwoodartgallery.com/chris-dei-artist/)