Currents is a body of large scale drawings on paper, focussed on the interconnectional dimensions of states and forms of water.
Each drawing is 5 feet x 9 feet / 152 x 274 cm, graphite on paper
Water in the states of liquid, vapour, and solid make up the life system of the planet. Water is the universal transport medium of life, performing essential roles on massive and minute scales. All the water present at the beginning of the planet is present today, cycling through and over the earth, moving through the sky, and moving through all the planet’s beings. Up to 60% of the human adult body is water. It is estimated that the human brain and heart are composed of 73% water. Water unequivocally demonstrates the interconnectivity of all natural phenomena.
Focusing on the properties and states of water, Current explores notions of cycle and flow within this abiotic component of the ecosystem. The drawing process and medium becomes a means to visually conceptualize and celebrate the marvel present in this underpinning of the natural world. Subtle layers of graphite (a form of carbon— the other element on which all life is based) are applied to the surface of the paper in a succession of building up, lifting out, and reapplying. Created through additive and subtractive manipulations of layered graphite, forms are void of defined boundaries or contours, evoking fluidity and continual flux. Linear marks in the picture plane propose the multidimensional aspects of physical space and transitory qualities of water, energy, and motion. The drawing process becomes a means to visually conceptualize the wonder present throughout this underpinning of the natural world.
The scale of the work is used to suggest magnitude and scope. Compositions purposefully incorporate diverse vantage points within the picture plane as a means to break up the singular fixed vantage point in a colonialist Western tradition of landscape art. Subjects and forms within the drawings are void of defined boundaries, Linear marks in the picture plane suggest the multidimensional aspects of physical space and the transitory qualities of water, energy, and motion.
Coinciding with the need for scientific analyses, there is also a necessity for meaning gained through personalized acknowledgement and acclaim for the marvels and wonder present in the natural systems which sustain us. In this time of extreme weather events, our felt connection to, and the interconnectedness of all natural phenomena is ever more profound, conspicuous and present.
Details:
Detail from drawing 1 - Current - Wave
Details drawing 3 - Current - Sky River
I AM WATER, a public billboard project in New York, 2021
