Aino Toivettula
Printer, Artist
I primarily work with printmaking techniques. What draws me to printmaking is the expressive potential of line and texture,
as well as the reproducibility inherent in the medium. My practice is grounded in the fundamental elements of graphic art: repetition, pressure, and seriality. For me, repetition is not merely mechanical; it is a source of movement and transformation.
My work is rooted in my relationship with nature and a sense of open wonder toward the universe.
Currently, I mainly use photo etching, combining elements of metal engraving with transferred drawings and compositions based on my own photographs, etched onto copper plates. During the printing process, I often continue to modify the plate, allowing the image to evolve through pressure and chance.
In my graphic works, I reflect on the past as something filtered through lived experience—imprecise, yet compelling.
I work meticulously and with intention, following a vision formed early in the process. My working method is meditative; I have a clear sense of the outcome from the beginning.
When searching for texture, I am drawn to worn plates rather than pristine surfaces, much like memories shaped by time.
The resulting images often resemble indistinct dreams, glimpsed through lace curtains.