E.161 Terminal 2010; reworked and retitled 2010

• I. 1st state of 8                 

  

  Drypoint. A jetty situated at the water’s edge is surmounted by a monolithic curved structure. At the lower right is a slipway. The subject is worked entirely in drypoint.

  Impression on wove BFK Rives paper with watermark, printed by Rick Amor in his Alphington studio. Inscribed in pencil, below the plate mark: lower left: ‘1-1’; lower centre: ‘Terminal’; lower right: signed and dated ‘R Amor ’10’.

• II. 2nd state of 8

  The sea at the lower left, and the left of the top beam, have been selectively burnished, and new drypoint accents have been added. Vertical shading strokes have been added to the area immediately above the slipway.

  Impression on wove BFK Rives paper with watermark, printed by Rick Amor in his Alphington studio. Inscribed in pencil, below the plate mark: lower left: ‘1-2’; lower centre: ‘Terminal’; lower right: signed and dated ‘R Amor ’10’.

• III. 3rd state of 8

  The lower sections of the posts have been burnished, making them appear much lighter. Oblique drypoint shading has been added to the upper right of the structure, and drypoint accents have been added to the top of the far left post.

  Impression on wove BFK Rives paper, printed by Rick Amor in his Alphington studio. Inscribed in pencil, below the plate mark: lower left: ‘1-3’; lower centre: ‘Terminal’; lower right: signed and dated ‘R Amor ’10’.

• IV. 4th state of 8

  

  A fine, dense mesh of drypoint has been added to many areas of the plate.

  Impression on wove BFK Rives paper, printed by Rick Amor in his Alphington studio. Inscribed in pencil, below the plate mark: lower left: ‘1-4’; lower centre: ‘Terminal’; lower right: signed and dated ‘R Amor ’10’.

• V. 5th state of 8

  

  The tonal articulation of the subject has been modelled largely with a burnisher, but new drypoint accents have also been added. This is apparent especially on the posts and the horizontal area just above the slipway. The surface of the water and the protruding rocks have been more clearly defined. An oblique white patch has been burnished to the left of the opening at right.

  Impression with light plate tone, on wove BFK Rives paper, printed by Rick Amor in his Alphington studio. Inscribed in pencil, below the plate mark: lower left: ‘1-5’; lower centre: ‘Terminal’; lower right: signed and dated ‘R Amor ’10’.

• VI. 6th state of 8

  

  Several parallel horizontal strokes have been added to the top of the slipway, and new oblique shading has been added to the dock. The white patch at the right is no longer visible, having been covered with drypoint.

  Impression on wove BFK Rives paper, printed by Rick Amor in his Alphington studio. Inscribed in pencil, below the plate mark: lower left: ‘1-6’; lower centre: ‘Terminal’; lower right: signed and dated ‘R Amor ’10’.

• First edition, 2010

  Edition of ten numbered impressions, on wove Arches paper with watermark, printed by Rosalind Atkins at Kate Herd’s studio, Alphington. The edition included two artist’s proofs and an hors commerce impression. The entire edition was selectively wiped, and printed with plate tone and with rich burr. Each impression is inscribed in pencil, below the plate mark: lower left: ‘[status of impression]’ [or] ‘[1 through 10]/10’; lower centre: ‘Terminal’; lower right: signed and dated ‘R Amor ’10’.

  Edition sheet size: 285 x 380 mm

• Edition impression (first edition, 2010) (Featured Image)

   

  

• VII. 7th state of 8, as Terminal II

  The title has been changed to Terminal II. The foreground around the ramp has been re-drypointed and the water at the lower left, and the horizontal rail, have been burnished.

  Impression on cream wove Stonehenge paper, printed by Rick Amor in his Alphington studio. Inscribed in pencil, below the plate mark: lower left: ‘1-1’; lower centre: ‘Terminal II’; lower right: signed and dated ‘R Amor ’10’.

• VIII. 8th and final state, as Terminal II

  A row of short vertical strokes has been added immediately above the top of the slipway. The top of the roof has been burnished to emphasize its curve. There are three variant impressions of this state.

  1. Selectively wiped impression with plate tone, on cream wove Stonehenge paper, printed by Rick Amor in his Alphington studio. Inscribed in pencil, below the plate mark: lower left: ‘1-2’; lower centre: ‘Terminal II’; lower right: signed and dated ‘R Amor ’10’.
  2. Selectively wiped impression with plate tone, on cream wove Stonehenge paper, printed by Rick Amor in his Alphington studio. Inscribed in pencil, below the plate mark: lower left: ‘1-3’; lower centre: ‘Terminal II’; lower right: signed and dated ‘R Amor ’10’.
  3. Impression on wove paper, printed by Rosalind Atkins at Kate Herd’s studio, Alphington. Inscribed in pencil, below the plate mark: lower left: ‘TP [trial proof]’; lower right: signed and dated ‘R Amor ’10’. Inscribed in pencil, by the artist, upper left margin [instructions for the printer]: ‘Keep light’ [with five arrows pointing to the top of the curved ‘tank’, the left contour of the structure, the base of the jetty, and the water]; lower margin: ‘keep light’ [with three arrows pointing to areas in the central lower part of the composition] / ‘Clean wipe’. 

• VIII.c. Trial proof of 8th and final state, 2010, annotated

  

  A row of short vertical strokes has been added immediately above the top of the slipway. The top of the roof has been burnished to emphasize its curve. There are three variant impressions of this state.

• Second edition, 2010, as Terminal II

  Edition of ten numbered impressions, on wove Stonehenge paper, printed by Rosalind Atkins at Kate Herd’s studio, Alphington. The edition included a trial proof (VII.d), an artist’s proof and a printer’s proof. Each impression is inscribed in pencil, below the plate mark: lower left: ‘[status of impression]’ [or] ‘[1 through 10]/10’; lower centre: ‘Terminal II’; lower right: signed and dated ‘R Amor ’10’.

  Edition sheet size: 285 x 380 mm

• Edition impression (second edition, 2010), as Terminal II

  

• Comment

  This mysterious structure by the sea is the artist’s invention. Its shape was inspired by a seemingly unlikely source: the 69th Regiment Armory, on Lexington Avenue, New York, with its barrel-vaulted hall, covered by a ribbed, curved exterior. Amor photographed the building when in New York in 1996 on a Visual Arts/Craft Board (Australia Council) residency at the Greene St Studio.

  In making this drypoint, the artist has completely transformed his source, shifting the motif from the city to the shore, and to post-industrial dereliction. The print and a painting of the subject, in reverse direction, are both based on a watercolour.

  The first edition of the print exploited the drypoint burr, with heavy inking. This was judged too rich, as it diverted attention from subject to technique and printing effects. In the last two states, areas of the plate were burnished back, and tonal adjustments made with the drypoint needle; a second, lighter edition was then printed.

  A view of a structure similar to that seen in E.161 is the subject of a subsequent but much smaller print, The wall, 2011, reworked 2012 and 2013, as Terminal (cat. no. E.167).