Baleen whales like this feed by swallowing and filtering krill and other small sea creatures from large quantities of seawater. The filtering is done through a comb of "baleen" plates. Baleen is also the family name of the many different whale species that feed in this way, including the blue whale, the largest of all.

Whales were over-hunted in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, with the British territory of South Georgia at the centre of whale hunting in Antarctic waters. Since controls were introduced some species have begun to recover, while others are still threatened. Today one of the biggest threats is collision with ships.

This print shows what happens when a drypoint plate is inked and printed 40 times. I have included in the display every third print in the edition, 1, 4, 7, etc. up to 40. The first 15 – 20 are distinct, then definition and tonal density fades. The last few are very pale. The plate has been printed almost to extinction. I have used this as a visual metaphor for the continuing threat to some whale species.

Drypoint plates are inherently fragile because of the way they are made. The artist-printmaker simply scratches into a metal plate using a sharp, hard steel spike. Ink catches not only in the groove made but also the burr thrown up at the edges. The wear & tear caused by inking and wiping the plate and printing under several tons of pressure in an etching press erodes this burr quite quickly, so that less and less ink is retained. The first 20 or so prints from a drypoint plate are a reasonably consistent tone and sharpness. That would normally be the limit of an edition of drypoint prints, unless special steps were taken to preserve the plate (e.g. electroplating with steel). From around the 20th print onwards density and clarity decline progressively.

I made the paper by hand in a batch of 46 sheets. The paper is from high quality, acid-free pulp.

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