Intaglio Printmaker Prize Winner: Marco Poma

What made you get into printmaking? 

A mistake. Let me explain: I wanted to become a graphic designer and, when it was time to choose my university path, I enrolled at the Academy of Fine Arts in the Graphic programme, imagining that the curriculum would focus on graphic design. It turned out to be quite the opposite, and only after spending years in the printmaking studio did I begin to appreciate the qualities of this craft. It was a love that developed slowly, but became permanently etched into me.

What I appreciate most is the interaction between so many factors beyond the mark itself: the plate, the needle, the acid and the printing process. These elements always generate something unexpected, which I am then led to reinterpret. I find that wonderful! Moreover, the possibility of working with multiples allows me to share and circulate my work much more freely and easily.

Tell us about your other works – are they similar or different? 

They all follow a common thread centered around my emotional states. They are all different because I try to experience as much as possible, but ultimately every experience is filtered and reworked through me.

Do you tend to work within one technique?

I prefer etching because of the freedom it gives me in mark-making and the ability of the acid to sculpt and alter my ideas. I also work with many other techniques that play a greater or lesser role in my practice but enrich the composition. Alongside this, I work extensively with anastatic printing.