Show Me Yours, I’ll Show You Mine is a series of prints that started with pairs of small plates (7.5x10cm) depicting an encounter between two people facing each other, it’s about looking and being looked at. With sexual and religious undertones, the pairings draw parallels between looking at oneself in the mirror and looking at each other, and reflect on the processes by which we become aware of our and other sexual bodies. It is inspired by psychoanalytical views on childhood understandings of sexual difference and Lacan’s mirror stage. It plays with the imaginary, surreal, fantastical and supernatural.
Each character is paired up with another creating different configurations, encounters where they respond and react to each other. These interacting couples are printed using three different techniques. Some of these images are printed in intaglio method (above) and others are printed in relief (below).
The third technique is a combination of intaglio and relief (below). The technique has been chosen to suit each pair of characters, surrounding them with a textured atmosphere, flattening the image and describing them with bold white lines, or making the image more subtle, demanding close attention from the viewer (like in these images below).
Different reds, from cold to warmer tones, have been used in this series, as reflected on the photographs.
As well as the pairs, experimentation with configurations of several plates has led to compositions like Juego de Mirones/Peeping Game and Genital Study Group (featured below). I have also combined these plates with other plates to create multiple-plate Shrines to Female Sexuality.
All prints are numbered and signed by the artist.
Julia R. Gallego 