The patch of light immediately to the right of the belching chimneys in the central distance has been lightly burnished; burnishing has also been applied to the sky at the lower left.
- Catalogue Number
- E.123
- Title and Date
- Lorimer St 2001
- Description of Featured Image
- A view looking across marshland and shallow pools of water towards the West Gate Bridge, whose left pylon is reflected in the muddy waters. The bridge, upon which heavy traffic travels, is silhouetted against a darkened, cloudy sky. A series of electrical poles recedes from the right middle ground into the far distance. Silhouetted against the horizon in the left background are factories, two of which emit belching smoke.
- Where Made
- Alphington, Melbourne
- Medium Category and Technique
- Intaglio Print: Etching and burnishing on copper
- Support
- Wove paper. Identified papers: Magnani Acqueforti paper with watermark: Romanesque ‘M’ with cross above.
- Dimensions
-
Image size: 188 x 265 mm
Matrix size: 191 x 267 mm - Artist’s Record Number
- RAE.137
- Printer(s) and Workshop(s)
- All state impressions printed by Rick Amor in his Alphington studio. Edition printed by Martin King at the Australian Print Workshop, Fitzroy (Melbourne).
- Summary Edition Information
- Two states. Edition of ten numbered impressions, 2001.
- Collections
- State Library of Victoria, Melbourne: five state impressions, numbered 1-1 through 4-1, 1-2.
- National Gallery of Australia, Canberra: APW workshop proof 2/2 (2002.431.831).
- Comment
This view of the West Gate Bridge, depicted from Lorimer Street, is based on Amor’s plein-air oil painting Lorimer Street, Port Melbourne, 1998 (State Library of Victoria, Melbourne). The translation of the painting – which is finished in the subdued, heavy greys and green-browns of an overcast twilight – into black and white increases the melancholic dimension of the subject. Amor has commented on the dark tenor of the etching, saying that, for him, the cars going over the bridge were like souls on the road to Purgatory.
There was very little change to the plate between the two states of the print; however, differences in atmosphere and mood can be seen across the various state impressions, which show Amor experimenting with the effects of subtle inking and wiping.
- Keywords
- Bridge, Melbourne, West Gate Bridge, Melbourne
- URL
- https://catalogue.rickamor.com.au/works/intaglio/lorimer-st/
Record last updated 16/02/2021