Pyronin Y

In the last group of Spot prints Hirst decided on a smaller scale of both paper and spots. Following the knowledge gained from printing the previous spot etchings, Peter Kosowicz worked out the maximum number of coloured spots with a one-inch diameter that could be printed, taking into account the drying time of the ink and the sheet size. For Pyronin Y and Ethidium Bromide Aqueous Solution, which contain 180 different spots, two plates each had to be used. The two plates were of identical size and each had ninety spots. The spots were arranged in alternating grids so that, when printed, they would complete the whole rectangular configuration of spots. It took four printers about two hours to ink up the ninety spots on each of the two plates.
The titles for these prints derive from chemical compounds, which are not toxic, but rather indicators and markers for the tracking of substances. ‘Pyronin Y’ is used with ‘Methyl Green’ to selectively demonstrate RNA (red) in contrast to DNA (green) with the Unna-Pappenheim method.

Publication excerpt from an essay by Charles Booth-Clibborn, in Contemporary Art in Print: The publications of Charles Booth-Clibborn and his imprint The Paragon Press, 2001-2006, pp. 315-316.