Dancing from the Dark, Looking for the Light
Monotypes, Etchings and Drypoints inspired by The Australian Ballet
Curated by Mary Tokatlidis

Debra Luccio’s new exhibition, Dancing from the Dark, Looking for the Light, offers an exciting new series of monotypes, drypoints and etchings. Each artwork draws inspiration from in situ drawings and photographs made at rehearsals for The Australian Ballet’s productions of Murphy (the celebration of Graeme Murphy), Tim Harbour’s Filigree and Shadow, and Alice Topp’s award winning Aurum.

This evocative and exciting exhibition brings together fifty-two artworks showcasing the artist’s highly recognisable, powerful approach to monotypes.

Her dancers are not depicted in the way one might traditionally imagine, in realistic style, but rather in a dynamic, contemporary combination of expressive abstraction with realism. Luccio has created this effect by using the inked roller to layer colours onto a copper sheet. Following this layering of colours, Luccio then wipes away the etching ink to reveal light and form, bringing to life a sculptural and fully modelled dancer, working back into the details with fine brushes on the copper plate before printing.

“With the strong element of chance, the abstraction of marks and the unusual textures able to be created with rich etching inks, monotype making is a technique hard to beat,” says Luccio.