Hafsa Murtaza, Erindale Flashflood Series, 2024
Etching and aquatint on Somerset paper
11 in x 15 in
Erindale Flash Flood Series follows a rising flood wave that wipes out a forest, leaving behind an aftermath of destruction. The flash flood of the Credit River in August of 2024 influenced this etching series, in which trees were uprooted, benches broken, fish eggs displaced, and hiking trails collapsed. Etching processes–such as hard ground, aquatint, scraping, and burnishing–were used to manipulate a single copper plate and manifest the momentous energy of a flood. Trees, logs, and a bench are illustrated as becoming destructed and gradually overcome by an impeding wave that begins as a stylistically drawn white-outlined wave and becomes a swooshing movement that erases and obscures the subject. The three-stage print ends in the aftermath, which shows the first stage of the etching process with the line drawing of the destructed forest and seating areas.
Floods symbolize God's retribution in Islam; the Quran mentions several stories of floods, such as the stories of the Prophet Noah and Moses. Thus, the etching series makes the viewer think of humans' impact on the world and serves as a reminder that there is a Creator with power greater than humans, to Whom everyone will return.
Hafsa Murtaza, Erindale Flashflood Series #1, 2024
Aquatint etching on washi paper
11 in x 15 in
Hafsa Murtaza, Erindale Flashflood Series #2, 2024
Aquatint etching on washi paper
11 in x 15 in
Hafsa Murtaza, Erindale Flashflood Series #1, 2024
Aquatint etching on Somerset paper
11 in x 15 in