I’m continuing to draw from our flat in these weird locked down days. Two upcoming shows have been postponed indefinitely. The act of drawing is respite from thought; labour intensive activity to become lost in. This drawing has a star chart/night sky feel, employing several techniques. It’s currently composed of four A1 sheets of black card and feels like I could keep adding further sheets to it until our entire living space is consumed.
Detail I
Detail II
I presented this painted black gloss shape on black matte wall at a recent studio critique. It was accompanied by this sound piece, played through a powerful stereo:
It was sufficiently loud that it caused objects within the room to vibrate.
The group discussion read the combination of sound and visuals as being oppressive and ominous, combining to create an atmosphere suggestive of religious cult rituals or sinister political gatherings.
It was felt that the work presented in this crit represents a departure from previous work. The black gloss symbol has nothing of the organic, gentle feel of the pencil drawings. It is extremely assertive and dogmatic; very oppositional and uncompromising in every way, to the point of feeling threatening. It suggests none of the time based creative process of the pencil drawing.
I am gradually assessing where I go from here. The shape is just an arrangement of painted lines, although I can understand why it was interpreted in these ways. I do feel that playing with sound and visuals with a certain charge and potency has potential, though I want to find ways to puncture the pomposity these signifiers carry, to promote recognition of their ultimate absurdity.
1. Desert station
2. Landscape of limbs
3. Dream in monochrome
I’ve been continue to play with making images on Photoshop, using elements cut from old photographs and diagrams. I often invert and tint the colours. I am drawn to the mysterious and ghostly atmosphere in many of these old images. Stains and blemishes are welcome. It’s a pleasure to add a fortress to a lakeside, make an inverted head float in mid air or fuse two disparate landscapes.
As always please zoom to explore details.
John Macormac 