By: Trevor Southey

Medium: etching
Year: 1988
Edition of 160
Image Size: 8 x 6 inches

This evocative etching portrays a male nude seen from behind, his arm extended upward in a powerful yet graceful gesture. The figure’s musculature is rendered with classical precision, evoking Renaissance anatomical studies—particularly those of Leonardo da Vinci, subtly echoed in the faint sketches and mirrored writing that populate the surrounding space. Southey, known for exploring the human form through a lens of dignity, vulnerability, and spiritual searching, infuses this work with a sense of introspective strength. The upward reach suggests aspiration or transcendence, while the etched lines and textures blend precision with a dreamlike ambiguity, inviting contemplation on the human condition and our striving for higher understanding.