Acetate Melt

Inkjet print corrosion experiment / 2021

While working on my Military Meat project, I began drawing on an acetate print I had with a calligraphy pen. The ink used in the pen was alcohol based which to my surprise began corroding away the plotter ink which made up the image printed on the clear acetate film.

The red ink and metallic flat tip of the calligraphy pen caused a rather gruesome effect, which you can see in the images of cows on this page. After wrapping up the Military Meat project I began experimenting with different prints and methods of applying different kinds of alcoholic chemicals. As the Covid pandemic had just ravaged the world the previous year and a half, there was an abundance of spray bottles of alcoholic disinfectant which proved to be very effective for this usage.

Among the very first experiments I used scotch tape to mask off areas of the image I didn’t want the alcohol to affect. Scotch tape became packaging tape which covered the entire print, using an x-acto knife I could cut out more intricate masks. Later I began using a vinyl cutter to produce far more detailed masks from transparent vinyl. This technique can be seen here on the right, along with a vinyl mask I also used paper towels to add a rough texture to the plotter ink.

A beekeeper is standing aloof in his garden. His face, body, and surroundings are eroding away around him. Transparent vinyl has been cut into a detailed pixelated mask used on the print during the alcohol bath it has taken. Paper towels have been used during the drying process which has left textured marks in the exposed plotter ink.
Mugshot style portrait of a gimp framed by lascivious peering eyes.
A beekeeper is standing aloof in his garden. His face, body, and surroundings are eroding away around him. Transparent vinyl has been cut into a detailed mask of dramatic eyes of varying sizes used during the alcohol bath this print has taken.
Image of a person taken from very low to the ground, framing them against the blue sky. A low flying airplane encompasses most of the background. The entire image and the acetate on which it was printed is neatly covered with rows of clear packaging tape. The outline of the airplane has been crudely cut out of the transparent tape with a box cutter which allowed the alcohol wash to completely remove it while leaving the person and the sky untouched.
A scenic view of a river snaking down a mountainous region printed on acetate, a single piece of transparent scotch tape masking said river. The disinfectant has washed away everything but what was under the protection of the tape.
A waterfall in a luscious natural environment printed on acetate, three pieces of transparent scotch tape are masking said waterfall. The disinfectant has washed away everything but what was under the protection of the tape.
An image of a red parrot against a dark background has been submerged in disinfectant. The paper towels used to dry the print have corroded away the image leaving a dotted grunge texture.
An aerial image of a rocky mediterranean coastline printed on acetate and bathed in disinfectant. The darker areas of the print have a higher concentration of ink resulting in that area withstanding the disinfectant longer. This means most of the light greenish blue hues of the ocean have washed away while the darker tones of the rocky coastline have remained. Some of the most ink rich areas of the image have glooped and glopped together during the disinfectant bath causing them to coagulate into messy strands of dark tones, only holding onto the acetate at the very ends.
An image of a grazing cow printed on acetate has been viciously attacked with the sharp flat nib of a calligraphic pen. The red ink from the pen has replaced most of the cow’s hide, and the violent abrasion of the metallic “weapon” has left scars and tears in the bloody mess.
What began as an image of a baron desert has been abstracted into what looks more like a vibrant watercolor painting of the same scene that has been through a washing machine. The strong orange tint of the sand contrasts the delicate blue hue of the sky. The aggressive grungy texture formed from the corrosion of the disinfectant wash and paper towel drying method contrasts the subtle blending of the remaining tones and hues which blurs the finer detail of the original image.
An image of a grazing cow printed on acetate has been viciously attacked with the sharp flat nib of a calligraphic pen. The red ink from the pen has replaced most of the cow’s hide, and the violent abrasion of the metallic “weapon” has left scars and tears in the bloody mess.