Richard Nattoo
Richard Nattoo – A Pious Germination
Richard Nattoo first introduced his etchings on glass at the 2014 Jamaica Biennial. It was an innovative and inspiring initiative by the newcomer receiving positive attention and feedback from art lovers and collectors alike. The success of this first showing would prompt Nattoo to develop on this concept, but instead of creating iterations of the same image on each panel as in ‘Birth of an Echo’, he began to experiment by etching different images unto multiple panels that once combined form the complete 3D image.
Nattoo’s artistic process begins by conceptualizing the subject or image that will later be deconstructed from a 2D drawing into a 3D model. He describes this process as “dreaming up what is going to be inside the glass”. Once the subject/drawing is established, Nattoo creates a 3D model then dissects it into a series of 18 slices. Next, the process of engraving each pane of glass using a dremel with a diamond tooth begins. Once complete, each pane is assembled to create the final image; a 3D illusion built from a series of 2D media.
Nattoo goes even further by adding a light source, taking advantage of the transparency of the glass and adding another layer of depth to his pieces. The light that shines through becomes embedded, so to speak, within the etching giving his work the appearance that it was drawn with light.
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