Zhané Warren approached Hentie van der Merwe June 2007 with the idea of creating a series of etchings, conceptually based on his music theatre project. For this project, the artist developed a series of masks to be worn by the main character namely ‘The Messenger’. These masks refer to various animals from the world of Nama (Khoi) folklore - such as the hare, lion, and eagle. The working drawings of the hare-masks were the basis for his etchings made during two intensive working periods in January and April this year. At the onset the artist’s intention was to exploit the violent, seductive and ‘libinal’ qualities of the various etching techniques to enhance and underscore the ideas at play in each particular study of a mask. 

Unlike Hentie van der Merwe’s project based prints, Tom Cullberg’s etchings are an extension of his paintings (which explore aspects such as narrative, intimacy and the transient). The artist worked at the Warren Editions studio during March this year, and created three etchings made with soft ground and various aquatint applications. As starting points for his etchings Cullberg used references to his paintings as well as found images. Unsurprisingly, colour was vital in the production of these etchings - to the point that Cullberg mixed his own colours as he would when painting. In the case of Tent and The Look, many trial proofs were pulled in order to establish the right colour. The etchings were constructed layer upon layer until an altered reality emerged that conveyed both the tangible and the intangible – especially evident in Tent.