This Spring i had the magic opportunity to collaborate with Goldmark Atelier in U.K for the production of the rare etching print ‘La Symphonie Des Songes’.

This edition is based on the mural i painted in my home town of Toulouse in 2016, part of Rose Béton Festival. The image we chose is a photograph of the wall by Big Addict.

They have used the photo in black and white for the traditional process of the etching technique, and I have to say i got emotional and impressed to see the result ! It’s printed on a very special japanese paper and collé / pressed on a thicker watercolor paper.

I hand finished 20 copies, each one unique, each of them different.

This is the most beautiful and delicate print i’ve done so far. Thank you Goldmark Atelier for the very special and technical work, it’s been a pleasure working with you guys ! Thank you Ian, Jan and Callum for the skills and the passion.

‘La Symphonie des Songes’ Miss Van – Etching production at Goldmark Atelier from Goldmark Atelier on Vimeo.

For this print we used the Cine-Collé process which involved using an extremely delicate handmade Japanese paper and a heavier Somerset paper as a substrate. The Japanese paper is applied directly to the face of the plate and trimmed to size before being placed onto the press. This requires great care as the damp paper can rip and tear with the slightest error. At this point 300gsm Somerset is placed on top of the plate and all three elements are ran through the press at high pressure. As a result of going through the press the lighter Japanese paper is pressed and adhered to the much heavier Somerset paper and can be lifted away from the plate as one (hence the collage/collé).

This rare process allows us to achieve much greater detail retention in the print as the Japanese paper is more able to lift ink from the finest elements of the plate.