From Rust: Growth, Decay and the Unknown in the Prints of Petr Herel

Abstract

This paper explores the work of Czech-born Australian artist Petr Herel (1943-), and the ongoing focus in his practice upon, in his words, ‘seeking in chance another world of the unexpected’. Specifically, it will examine the artist’s decision to reprint proofs of his Borges Sequel (1982) portfolio twenty years later to create Tardieu Sequel (2004), despite the plates having rusted. This rusting was not a conscious decision, having occurred while the plates were stored in damp and humid conditions. For many, this rusting would be seen as a disappointing reality, an unintentional and unwelcome disruption of the original compositions. However, upon seeing if reprinting the rusted plates would be a physical possibility, Herel found himself surprised by the way the rust printed ‘like the finest aquatint’, and was fascinated by the erratic and irregular patterns formed by the organic process which had been entirely out of his control—‘and all this just ‘by themselves’. Suddenly, the exquisite corpse monsters that inhabited the compositions were situated within a new environment, an environment that complemented their aberrant grotesque forms but also threatened their very existence on the page. Inspired by Herel’s observation that the interplay between conscious decision making, error, and chance has always had a presence in his work, this paper draws upon Herel’s decision to print the rusted plates as a portal to interrogate how the artist’s embrace of chance and ‘error’ impacts the way viewers might interpret the imagery in question today. This paper reveals and explores the ripe space for new interpretation facilitated by Herel’s printing of the damaged plates, specifically discussing the ways in the notion of ‘error’ can be used to re-frame examinations of the subject matter, composition and themes contained within the Borges Sequel and Tardieu Sequel prints. Herel’s preoccupation with the concepts of ‘Growth’ and ‘Decay’ works in the face of the notion that printing plates should be a reliable source of repeatedly consistent imagery, instead engaging with the nebulous nature of unknowingness. Like the very biological process of rust itself, the artist’s choice to print the rusted plates breaks down convention and creates new matter. This paper proves that, in the case of the Borges Sequel and Tardieu Sequel prints, there is a wealth of growth to be found in decay.