Teralyn Brown

 Linger - MFA Qualifier Exhibition, 2024. Gallery 7. University of Wisconsin-Madison

Linger is a collection of etchings depicting what I consider comfort objects, particularly living and dining chairs, found on the side of the road in unique relations to nature. Representative of change and abandoned comforts, these manufactured objects become increasingly one with the function of the natural world. They emerge, bury, tangle, root, bloom, and wither as an invasive species in a rotation of time that is represented by its settlement amongst layers of etched lines and sheets of natural fiber papers. The essence of the furniture’s past life lingers in varying clarities as they begin to take on new shapes and purpose.

To linger is to move slowly in the process of parting. I find myself lingering on memories and tiny details while I construct my plates. I’m able to lose track of time in the meditative drawing into the copper, quite literally tracing hours of labor into the final etch of the lines. Inking in almost a painterly way, I intuitively mix colors as I buff them into the plate in a palette inspired by sun-dappled scenes in the reference photos I’ve taken.  By repeatedly pulling different versions of the same plate, I investigate the impact of color varieties on the same image and reflect the natural color shift caused by times of day and passing of seasons. 

Each print functions as its own unique object. The shifting of color, light, and placement are subtle means of tracing time. Just as intuitive as my inking, my paper is aligned to areas of my image that I feel will have the most interesting result. Using multiple paper sizes, I use scale comparisons to play with a sense of zooming in and zooming out of the print’s details. Each printed composition is a chance encounter just as my subject matter is sourced from images of chance encounters with sidewalk furniture. 

The natural process of change can take several forms, offering boundless possibilities and subtle variations before its final form. Examining these variations in the medium of etching allows one to hold pause for the nuance of the object’s fleeting spirit.