In this composition Bourgeois used the printmaking technique of selective wiping to define her pictorial spaces and to create mood. After a composition is etched on the plate, ink is applied to the surface and wiped away with a cloth, leaving a trace amount of ink in the grooves of the etched areas. The plate is then run through a press and ink from the grooves gets printed on the paper. With selective wiping, ink is also left on the surface of the plate so some areas appear dark in the finished print.
Gallery label from Louise Bourgeois: An Unfolding Portrait, Sept. 24, 2017-Jan. 28, 2018.