SHADOWS

The series “Shadows” came about after a fracture in my life:

Have been at home for a few days now. Since the second day after the operation I’ve been getting up regularly... On the third day while still at the clinic I start to walk down the corridors. I’m a mass of tubes and serums all hooked up to my body. I am aware of what this magnificent surgeon has accomplished - it certainly hasn’t been a straightforward operation. My legs can hardly bear my weight but my journeys are short. The nurse that monitors me looks up and smiles. I sense it’s her way of cheering me up and smile back... How important a smile is at moments like this. I continue on my journey with very little strength in my legs. But it doesn’t matter. That loving arm that helps me along day after day helps me remember that all this will pass.

Once back home the days seem so long. I have time for everything: pick up that book I’ve been meaning to read for ages, watch a film or just listen to the silence that can be so comforting. As I sit in front of the window, looking out to sea from the Cabrera valley, everything is so full of life. It’s spring and the light and colours are starting to become more intense. I see those colours and start to think about what I really love doing: going to the workshop and starting a new project. I think of those wonderful days immersed in work at the Barberà workshop, with Virgili and Leo printing away and producing all those colours for me. And suddenly it’s time for my walk. It’s an important time of the day, that part of the treatment which is helping me make a full recovery. I set off and start to get tired. So much so that en route I sit down on the benches of this village that I have come to consider my own. I rest a while and continue. My legs are barely holding me up. They seem much thinner than they should be and have lost muscle mass. My shoes seem enormous compared to my drill-shaped feet. My clothes are too big. And for the first time I wonder whether I will be able to create colours and produce prints again, or make engraving plates or silkscreen screens... Although each day I give it my all, I have very little strength. And these thoughts do not go away. I don’t want be immersed in pointless nostalgia but I’m scared I won’t be able to go back to what really makes me feel alive.

“Shadows” is about that period everyone goes through at some point in their lives, an ebbing and flowing of life.  It’s a time when we can begin to use Colours in all their boldness. The bare areas of these prints point to the road that had to be taken before we could take up our inks again; “Shadows” is life and joy, gratitude to those who have made this work possible. It is a celebration of my return to the workshop and of my heartfelt need to colour everything that surrounds me.

Lourdes Figuera Vidal

Title

Pumpkin shadow

Technique

Etching and Aquatint

Size

75,5  x 21 cm

Paper

Michell 250 g

Title

Spilt wine shadow

Technique

 Etching and Aquatint

Size

68,5 x 62 cm

Paper

Guarro 250 g

Title

Shadows III

Technique

 Etching and Aquatint

Size

26 x 19 cm

Paper

Michell 250 g

Title

Shadows IV

Technique

 Etching and Aquatint

Size

51 x 51 cm

Paper

Guarro 300 g

Title

Shadows V

Technique

 Etching and Aquatint

Size

64 x 49,5 cm

Paper

Capellades 240 g

Title

Shadows VI

Technique

 Etching and Aquatint

Size

59,5 x 81 cm

Paper

Guarro 250 g

Title

Shadows VII

Technique

 Etching and Aquatint

Size

65 x 50,5 cm

Paper

Capellades 260 g

Title

Shadows VIII

Technique

 Etching and Aquatint

Size

51,5 x 50 cm

Paper

Guarro 250 g

Title

Shadows IX

Technique

 Etching and Aquatint

Size

66,5 x 51,5 cm

Paper

Arches 240 g

Title

Shadows X

Technique

Etching and Aquatint

Size

59,5 x 81 cm

Paper

Guarro 250 g

Title

Shadows XI

Technique 

Etching and Aquatint

Size

51,5 x 52 cm

Paper

Guarro 250 g

Title

Shadows XII

Technique 

Etching and Aquatint

Size

49,5 x 49,5 cm

Paper

Aquari 240 g

Title

Shadows XIII

Technique

Etching and Aquatint

Size

66,2 x 51,4 cm

Paper

Arches 240 g

Title

Shadows XIV

Technique 

Etching and Aquatint

Size

56,5 x 49 cm

Paper

Capellades 300 g

Title

Sombras XV

Technique 

Etching and Aquatint

Size

81 x 58,4 cm

Paper

Arches 300 g

Title

Shadows XVI

Technique 

Etching and Aquatint

Size

67 x 51 cm

Paper

Arches 240 g

Title

Shadows XVII

Technique 

Etching and Aquatint

Size

54,5 x 50 cm

Paper

Guarro 240 g

Title

Shadows XVIII

Technique 

Etching and Aquatint

Size

60 x 80 cm

Paper

Guarro 250 g

Title

Shadows XIX

Technique

Etching and Aquatint

Size

52 x 62 cm

Paper

Guarro 250 g

Title

Shadows XX

Technique 

Etching and Aquatint

Size

30 x 28 cm

Paper

Guarro 250 g

Titulo

Shadows XXI

Technique 

Etching and Aquatint

Size

124 x 84 cm

Paper

Handmade Aquari 400 g

Title

Shadows XXII

Technique 

Etching and Aquatint

Size

74,5 x 125 cm

Pronto

Arches 400 g

Title

Shadows XXIII

Technique 

Etching and Aquatint

Size

69,5 x 46,5 cm

Paper

Arches 240 g

Title

Shadows XXIV

Technique 

Etching and Aquatint

Size

59 x 79,5 cm

Paper

Guarro 240 g

Title

Shadows XXV

Technique 

Etching and Aquatint

Size

57 x 47,5 cm

Paper

Aquari 300 g

Title

Shadows XXVI

Technique 

Etching and Aquatint

Size

57 x 47,5 cm

Paper

Aquari 300 g