Decalcomania

The technique of decalcomania was 'invented' by Oscar Dominguez, a surrealist painter from the Canary Islands. I always thought this fact was strangely significant
because of the connection between the Canary Islands and the legendary Atlantis, which seems to be reflected in the eerie, aqueous landscapes that Dominguez
made with this technique. You begin by spreading black gouache on paper and then pressing down unevenly on it with another piece of paper or to produce a
Rorschach-like abstraction. The resulting images have been described as "submarine flora, unfathomable fauna…delirious broughs of grottoes, black lakes,
will-of-the-wisps…" (Andre Breton).

I decided to try a variation on the traditional decalcomania technique by using coloured, instead of black gouache, which reduces the graphic impact, but strengthens
the lyrical qualities.

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