All my art is about the sea and what it gives to people. At some point, a wish to give something back overwhelmed be. The best thing I can do for the sea is to advocate and support marine protection. This is how the following series of artworks started.
Two motives at room temperature and after exposure to heat
Concept:
The linocut series are inspired by the coral gardens of Shouni Bay/Maysa Shouni, which I encountered while diving in the region. The corals of the Red Sea are known for their remarkable resistance to rising sea temperatures, but global warming remains a significant threat, causing coral bleaching and further destruction.
To highlight this issue, I used thermochromic paint for the corals, which reacts to heat by bleaching at temperatures of 31°C (87.8°F) and higher. By placing your warm hand on the print or applying another heat source, you will witness the coral lose its color. This change is fully reversible, returning to its original hues when the temperature drops. This color shift directly symbolizes the bleaching and subsequent revival of coral in the face of climate change.
Process:
The print was created by transferring a preliminary sketch onto two or three separate linoleum plates, one for each color (multi-block linocut technique). The shapes were carefully carved into the linoleum using sharp blades.
The thermochromic ink was custom-made by carefully rubbing the pigments with a special binder, specifically formulated for linocut printing. Each plate was inked in a specific color and then hand-burnished onto paper, with the process repeated for every new sheet of paper and every plate. This is why each print in the edition is slightly and uniquely different.
I also chose special paper made from sea algae to emphasize the connection to marine life.
Each print is signed and numbered.
The prints are now available at my website shop and at the Wadi Sabarah Lodge in Marsa Alam, Egypt. Part of the proceeds will be donated to the RED SEA PROJECT™, an international non-profit organization dedicated to the protection and conservation of marine ecosystems and biodiversity.
The variation of prints will be part of the exhibition ZEITGLEICH ZEITZEICHEN - a German wide project by the Professional Association of Fine Artists to showcase innovative printing techniques:
KUBATUR Kulturbahnhof Kassel
Rainer‐Dietrichs‐Platz 1, 34117 Kassel
13.02.-02.03.2024
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