Rust print, ink, gunpowder, burning, gold leaf - Unique
58cm x 58cm
Unframed
 
The drawing starts with a rust print. A map of the area is reversed and scratched through a painted steel sheet to the steel surface below. A rusting solution is then sprayed on the metal, the paper laid on top, covered and left for several days for the rust to soak in.
 
Ink details are added to the map using drawing pens to highlight roads, footpaths and rivers.
 
The area is surveyed to identify the location of all the ash trees and these are all marked on the map. Piles of gunpowder are placed on these locations and ignited, giving a random spattering of burn marks around them which could be thought of as the ash dieback spores being released into the air.
 
Most of the tree locations are then burned out of the map using a pyrography tool, with 5-10% (the estimated number of trees which will hopefully survive due to genetic diversity) just scorched and then gold leaf added to these locations afterwards.
 
Each picture is unique and one of a maximum of 4 similar drawings (A maximum of 4 prints can be taken before the paint starts to flake off the steel sheet).