Part 1 of a love-letter to Lisbon’s gritty character, this photograph is the first in a series celebrating the darker side of city living. Lisbon is not a clean city; I sometimes joke that it is built from dust, because it often feels that way. Yet, as negative as that sounds, it gives the city an ineffable character that draws me in, invites me to observe it, observe the effects of the passage of people and time in shaping the city. The grunge makes the city feel human, and I love that.
These limited-edition prints are not traditional giclée or darkroom (silver-halide) prints. As a complement to the grungy nature of these photographs, I employ the photogravure process, a two-hundred year old technique for reproducing photographs using traditional copperplate print-making techniques. Thick oil-based inks are pressed into the cotton fibers of the paper to create a rich, and very permanent image. This process is recognizable from the platemark, a deep impression in the paper around the edges of the image where the printing plate was forced into the paper under very high pressure. This technique is very labor-intensive, and very error-prone: Each print can take hours or preparation and work, but the results speak for themselves.
Limited edition of only five hand-pulled photogravure prints, 25cm x 35cm. Printed with Charbonnel oil-based inks on Fabriano Rosaspina 220GSM acid-free paper.