Etchings on polylaminate, 2023
Emilia Telese’s series of etchings on polylaminate packaging. This work unites the rhythmic patterns present in industrial and domestic waste with a meditation about the artist’s own life story. Each work is hand printed and varied by the artist with unique effects. Due to the fragility of the matrix, only five prints are available of this work. Fama was first shown during Telese’s solo exhibition of the same name at the Grafíksalurinn gallery of islensk Grafík – The Association of lcelandic Printmakers, Hafnarhús, Reykjavik, in March 2023.
Aseptic cartons (ferna in lcelandic), made of multiple Iayers of plastic, paper and aluminium (also known as polylaminates), are a common feature of our life, containing, for example, milk, juice, and other beverages. Yet they are a known environmental problem, as they cannot be recycled like normal paper waste, but need to go to special recycling units for separation of the different materials. As a result, only 20% of them are recycled worldwide, with the rest going to landfill. Combining her Fiorentine training on Renaissance techniques with her practice as a conceptual artist over the past 25 years, Emilia Telese has created a series of works on polylaminate beverage cartons, charting emotional journeys about intimate life moments in Iceland and Italy.
Telese plays on the contrast between traditional art techniques and everyday materials which appear throwaway, but which in fact endure on Earth for centuries as part of the Earth’s industrial waste. On their surface, the weathered texture of the cartons reflects the fragility of life and the fleeting moments we capture with our mind’s eye, memories of the different stages of our existence made of lights and shadows. Ferna continues Emilia Telese’s conceptual and formai research focusing on the tangibility of artforms and society’s separation of value between artists and the artefacts they produce.
At the Window, 2023 Untagli° etching on polylaminate cartons, hand printed on Magnani handmade paper, 35x41cm (paper dimensions 86 x 62cm) Hand varied print, edition of 5, printed by the artist
In conversation, 2023 Intaglio etching on aseptic cartons, hand printed on Magnani handmade paper, 17x20cm (paper dimensions 86 x 62cm) Hand varied print, edition of 5, printed by the artist
One Half of the Sky / The Other Half of the Sky, 2023 ‘Intaglio etching on aseptic cartons, hand printed on Magnani handmade paper, 17x20cm each (paper dimensions 86 x 62cm each) Hand varied print, edition of 5, printed by the artist
Maternity, 2023
llntaglio etching, ink and gold pigment on aseptic cartons, hand printed on Magnani handmade paper, 83x43cm (paper
dimensions 86 x 62cm] Hand varied print, edition of 5. Printed by the artist
At sea, 2023
lntaglio etching, ink and goid pigment on aseptic cartons, hand printed on Magnani handmade paper, 64.5×25.5 cm (paper
dimensions 86 x 62cm] Hand varied print, edition of 5 . Printed by the artist
Installation view of Maternity during Emilia Telese’s solo exhibition Ferna at Grafiksalurinn, Reykjavik, March 2023. The prints
were exhibited alongside their matrixes, showing the construction of the milk cartons, assembled and etched by the artist.
Installation view of in Conversation matrix during Emilia Telese’s solo exhibition Ferna at Grafiksalurinn, Reykjavik, March 2023
Emilia Telese 