"Breathing Space" is a body of work by Emilia Telese, building on the artist’s previous experimental printmaking series, "Progressive Decay". The series uniquely employs volcanic and atmospheric dust, collected by scientist Dr. Pavla Dagsson-Waldhauserová from Icelandic dust storms, to create inks for mezzotint engravings on copper plates. The resulting monoprints, made between November 2024 and February 2025, are modular pieces that combine the ephemeral quality of dust with the permanence of copper engraving, reflecting on the tensions between the transient and the enduring, and the human relationship with natural and environmental forces.
Thematically, "Breathing Space" deeply engages with ecological concerns, highlighting the impermanence of the environment and its regenerative cycles, while exploring the emotional meaning of dust and breathing. The use of dust as both medium and subject is central to the work's ecological and atmospheric concerns. Icelandic volcanic and atmospheric dust carries unique significance, symbolizing the uncontrollable forces of nature and the fragile, interconnected systems governing Earth. Drawing on Timothy Morton's concept of "hyperobjects," the dust in "Breathing Space" evokes the far-reaching, invisible impacts of environmental change and global interconnectedness.
The artistic process itself is integral to the work's meaning. The intricate, slow, and deliberate mezzotint engraving process counterbalances the volatility of the dust, allowing for delicate layering and manipulation of the medium. This process, with its iterative stages of abrasion and refinement, serves as a metaphor for the passage of time and the gradual accumulation of environmental residue, resembling the erosion of both landscape and human intervention. Thematically, the work engages with the concept of atmospheric breath, echoing the environmental impact of dust storms and the human experience of breath as a vulnerable act. The dust particles that filled the atmosphere become the ink, underscoring a cyclical relationship between air, materials, and creation.
From an art theory perspective, "Breathing Space" resonates with contemporary ecological aesthetics, drawing on theories of "vibrant matter" by Jane Bennett, which posits vitality even in seemingly insignificant materials like dust. Anna Tsing's work on ecological decay and regeneration also offers a framework for understanding how recontextualized materials can become sites of both loss and possibility. The series also features etched portraits of Dr. Dagsson-Waldhauserová, with her figure surrounded by and made of dust and black ink, representing the "Anthropocene in the work, the human side of scientific exploration".
