Nerine Martini

This extensive drawing project formed the visual keystone of the of the Traces exhibition at the Incinerator Art Space in Willoughby, 2012.

The drawings are based on an image of my fingerprint. The image has been manipulated through tracing, projections, changing the scale and intensity. This process of repetition induced a meditative state. The titles refer to the act of tracing as a mean of creating the works as well as the fingerprint as a trace of one’s existence. These drawings explore the nature of the individual, a deeply personal image which implies security and evidence of identity.

This is an extract from the catalogue essay written by Elin Howe 2012
Martini’s distended fingerprints, laminated over one another invite a more contemplative approach to the image. In some, calligraphic marks inscribe inscrutable messages over the surface; in others the line playfully effaces the fingerprint in a game of catch-me-if-you-can. Her titles allude to the mood of the image and also often conjure, in a lateral way, the ephemeral quality of these intimate experiences through the fragility of her materials. Positive and negative blots efface the fingerprint in others adding yet another layer of meaning as we contemplate the brevity of our life span on earth in the grand scheme of things.