Engraved in a first state in 1997, this large-scale copper has recently been defined in a second state, thus making it possible to intensify the etching and create a nocturnal landscape with drypoint. The ideal city is a symbolic tower designed as "the axis of the world" to unite Earth and Heaven. Bringing people together in a single construction recalls the myth of the Tower of Babel or the Ivory Tower (a symbol of noble purity in the Judeo-Christian tradition). A utopian project, the result of excessive audacity and not devoid of a beauty that fascinates us, the city appears as a place of welcome, protected and isolated, where access is reserved for elected officials. Paradoxically, by the absence of any human being, the ideal city seems an empty shell, a myth that leads us into darkness. Meticulous work and...long meditation.
Copper 500 mm x 320 mm (width x height), 1997 - 2023
Etching/drypoint on Hahnemuehle paper, Sicars, Charbonnel inks; sheet size 700mm x 500mm. Printed by the author on a Puliti chalcographic press.
Limited edition of 30 copies numbered 1/30 – 30/30.
