Tomasz Knapik

Biography

Statement

I often inspect artworks as a whole and up close as though through a magnifying glass. My curiosity about micro and macrocosm has somehow led me to delve into the very surface of the plate, investigating closely how variations in texture and line hold and release the black ink within its cracks and pores. For me, the interplay of tonal range, gradation, light and shadow carry a lot more charge and emotion than the colour itself, hence the absence of it in my work.

Living in an era of fast-paced mechanical reproduction, easily manipulated digital images, and instant outcomes, has somehow disrupted my rhythm of creation, which has left me with little space for digestion, or time to process. I was driven as a creative to construct this printmaking enclave where I can reflect, embrace, and develop connection with this medium. I’m attracted by the mysterious quality of intaglio printing and its inverted image which interferes with seeing when creating the artwork. Thus I am guided by my intuition and my expectations are suspended until the image emerges during the final act of printing. This final discovery can be met with delayed gratification or disappointment. As I have confined my practice to subtractive methods of intaglio, every physical intervention on the plate leaves a permanent mark. The mark is often irreversible and therefore the final impression is doomed from its impact.