VALERIE HAMMOND

In Valerie Hammond’s three new editions: Little Red, Harpy, and Flora, the artist expands on her themes from fairy tales and Greek Mythology. In Little Red, Hammond creates an  alternate world where the wolf is tamed or “charmed” by the woman, who seems to be in a calm and reflexive state. In this contemplative moment, as if suspended outside time, the woman is gesturing with one hand, upward and out to the side. The wolf gazes off into the middle distance like a benevolent guardian. Images of hands have played a central role in Hammond’s work: reaching, directing, and suggesting devotional associations. The print itself is built up in layers. First, a dark indigo color is printed onto the sheet of Japanese, Okawara paper. Next, a large copper etching plate containing the image, worked on and etched in multiple stages by the artist, is printed in silver ink. The metallic ink sits up in contrast to the dark blue background, creating a radiant glow to the woman and wolf. Lastly, the artist has hand colored the woman’s and the wolf’s eyes. These combined elements lend themselves to a visual exchange; we are observing the woman, but are also the subject of the woman’s gaze.

In her recent etching Harpy, Hammond explores the mystery of this monstrous creature from Greek Mythology. The Harpy, a creature with the head of a woman and the body of a bird, is  derived from the Greek word “harpazein”, meaning “to snatch”. The Harpies embody the personification of destructive storms, and were sent by Zeus to exact punishment. The artist states, “I consider the Harpy as both a fearsome and fetishized figure – or simply a power girl – and see fairy tales as cautionary roadmaps.” In Hammond’s interpretation, this sublime creature is not as malevolent or fearsome, yet just as mysterious and strange. Printed in dazzling vermillion ink with chine colle, Hammond’s intricate rendering captivates and fascinates the viewer. 

In her new lithographic edition, Flora, the artist turns to a more Arcadian scene, with the goddess of flowers and springtime. Here, in her ethereal garden, an array of meadow  flowers hover in front of the subject. In her conjuring of the Roman Goddess, Hammond manipulates scale, depicting Flora gathering mysteriously large flowers, and floating above the ground in a blissful repose. To heighten the translucency, the image is printed in cobalt ink on Japanese Okawara paper, adding to its ephemeral quality.

— Andrew Mockler