Abandoned tools 1976

Nikos Hadjikyriakos-Ghikas made this etching, Abandoned Tools, with ink on paper. It’s a real dig, isn’t it? Like an archeological site, or the remnants of a half-finished project. I love the way Ghikas creates depth using dense clusters of lines, hatching and cross-hatching. It's almost architectural, mirroring the way forms come together and build upon one another, a kind of layering, like the strata in a rock. Look at the area around the centre, where the pile of earth or debris is. The lines are so close together they almost become a solid mass, while in other areas the lines are sparser, suggesting light and air. It reminds me a little of Piranesi, who also explored the poetics of ruins. But Ghikas is less romantic, more matter-of-fact. More like, this is what we leave behind. It's an ongoing conversation, this business of making art.