Monologue 2

Monologue 2 is an abstract intaglio print executed in oil-based etching with aquatint on washi, a combination that situates Kwon's work at the intersection of Western printmaking technique and East Asian material tradition. The title suggests an interior, self-directed expression — a single voice turned inward — which aligns with the introspective character typical of her practice. Aquatint, applied in layered biting stages, produces the tonal gradations that likely structure the composition: fields of tone shifting from deep, dense shadow to open, luminous areas of near-bare paper. The oil-based etching element contributes fine linear incident within those tonal zones. The washi support lends the surface a fibrous warmth and slight translucency distinct from Western rag papers, allowing ink to sit on and partially within the sheet rather than pooling on a hard surface. As the second work in a numbered series, Monologue 2 implies a sustained investigation of the same formal or psychological territory across multiple states, with each iteration exploring a variation in tone, pressure, or compositional weight rather than introducing a wholly new subject.