Green Impressions: Juliana Nelid's Sustainable Revolution in Intaglio Printmaking

Traditionally, intaglio printmaking involved using nitric acid and other chemicals to inscribe patterns onto metal plates. However, today, artists are increasingly aware of the health and environmental concerns of the process. As an example, one of the largest uses of intaglio printing, currency printing, generates 100 kilograms of landfill intaglio sludge for every one million banknotes printed. These harmful substances cannot be bio-degraded and will only poison the soil if disposed of improperly. Meanwhile, smaller at-home uses also create harmful vapours and residue that is dangerous to touch.

Artist Juliana Nelid saw this as an opportunity to create innovations in the technique that are friendlier for both the environment and artists’ health while preserving the highly detailed print quality synonymous with intaglio printing. Hence, Nelid discovered that one way to do it is by using discarded milk and juice cartons. She uses tetra paks instead of metals as a base for her printing designs. This means that her printmaking technique no longer produces harmful vapors and wastes while at the same time also allowing her to recycle tetra pak wastes. This is why her work is relevant to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals of Responsible Consumption and Production and Good Health And Well-Being.

Nelid’s innovation warrants further praise when viewers realize that tetra paks are notorious for being one of the hardest to recycle packaging materials. This is because tetra paks are made of different recyclable materials that have been layered and glued together, including plastic, aluminum and cardboard. To recycle a tetra pak, one must first separate its individual layers and then recycle them accordingly. This process is easier said than done since it requires special machinery. As a result, only 26 percent of tetra paks are recycled worldwide, meaning almost 3 out of 4 tetra paks ever made are likely to end up in landfills or polluting beaches and oceans.

Nelid frequently shares engaging videos on social media to share her craft and innovation. These process videos are accompanied by in-depth process captions, which also describe her failures and lessons learned. Therefore, it is sufficient to say that these videos allow her to educate her followers, giving them the freedom to learn from her in the comforts of their own homes and create their own detailed prints.

Nelid frequently uses her technique to create urban architectural pieces whose rigid lines align perfectly with the folds of her recycled tetra packs. From time to time, she has also experimented with abstract forms, making geometrical shapes or flowing lines with the help of sandpaper. What she has created are beautifully detailed pieces that anyone would be in awe of, all while helping to reduce the environmental footprint of her printmaking technique and recycling tetra paks.

Find out more about Juliana Nelid’s prints and their other initiatives by checking their Instagram on @juliprintstudio.