You Shall be my Companion, so Tells St. John

Concept

Antonio da Cruz developed many techniques working with all the types of metal. Despite working with metal, his sculpture works seems to fly, or move, such effect that gave him the epiteth "Steel's Poet". In the last decade, he started to experiment engraving on stainless steel sheets with industrial rotary tools, technique that he called "RPM engraving". He first creates a patina on the steel sheet by laying acid and scorching it. He then sgraffitates the steel with different rotary tools to create lines and textures. The artwork crafted by this techique was named, by the artist himself, "Holoesgraffito”. “Holo” for the holographic effect the engraved steel sheet creates when exposed in the light; “esgraffito” for he is esgraffitating the patina he created on the stainless steel sheet, enhancing the holographic experience creating the perception of layers in the engraved image that reveals themselves as the subject moves around the artwork and the light spot. Antonio da Cruz intends to improve his Holoesgraffito crafting skills researching his own method. He takes notes on the different effects he gets when different tools are used, and the different colors he gets when different chemical products are used as acids.