Ensemble, 2019
Copperplate etching


The Rosin Box is a complementary tool in intaglio printmaking, generating a grain texture called aquatint by depositing a fine layer of rosin dust over the plate before acid-etching. The rosin box has never been a generative device of its own accord, always succumbing to predetermined drawings of the printmaker. This project attempts to give agency to the rosin box as a primary image-generating device.

Using a process similar to cyanotype and the principles of photo exposure, string and nails rest over a clean copper plate. Rosin is deposited incrementally onto the surface, then fixed in place using a torch. The process is repeated at multiple 50 second-increments until a thick layer of rosin had built up everywhere besides the positive of the image. A final layer of rosin is deposited over the entire plate to render visible the positive of the image.



Ben Han - 2020 — Vancouver, British Columbia