unknown

ANGULAR ABERRATIONS OF LIGHT

Angular Aberr_single shot_yellow calibrated -5_1000wide.jpg

The largely colourless world of charcoal drawing can serve beautifully to express our tenuous quest for knowledge and enlightenment, as we try to comprehend the underlying causality for things as we think we observe them to be. The construct of Angular Aberrations of LIght lies somewhere between assumption and observation, embracing the lovely imperfection of all human endeavour. (2024, charcoal on paper, 32" x 22", 55.9 cm x 81.3 cm, frame included)

This drawing is part of the world-building project entitled Prism Schism.

SO MANY FLAVOURS

Ancient Greek mythology portrays Iris as the personification of the rainbow, which she travels along to deliver messages amongst the gods and to humanity.

With or without mythological connotations, the rainbow has stories to tell. It narrates physics to our eyes, translating light and the refractive properties of water droplets into the colours which mere mortals can perceive. When we look at the rainbow, what we see depends on which story we heed. This leads me to imagine a world governed by a story that does not acknowledge the existence of colour, but which nonetheless offers toeholds for stories to come. With the drawing So Many Flavours, an ice cream parlour with a wide selection promotes itself with the name Iris. (2024, charcoal on paper, 32" x 22", 55.9 cm x 81.3 cm, frame included)

This drawing is part of the world-building project entitled Prism Schism.

SHINE

The glowing potential of humanity is best seen when darkness falls.

This rooftop view reveals elements that have journeyed since they were last seen in other drawings. The viewer’s position has also shifted, and the light has changed. All vectors meet in this moment, giving humanity a chance to pause and reconsider itself. (2023, charcoal on paper, 61 ¾” x 28”, 156,8 cm x 70 cm, frame included)

This drawing is part of the world-building project entitled Prism Schism.

IN THE EARLY DAYS

If most of us saw the world in shades of grey, found beauty in this, and knew nothing of colour, we might close ourselves to any talk about rainbows being more than glowing arcs. Our fear could be that seeing colour would propagate dangerous changes in people’s outlooks. Allowing others to see differently than us would be risky. Perhaps we would try to fix them, even if they may not see themselves as needing to be fixed. “Fear not,” they might say. “The dimension of colour does not obstruct the splendour of light and shadow, and can collaborate with it in perfect alliance.” How would we proceed? (2020, charcoal on paper, 70” x 30”, 177.8 cm x 76.2 cm, frame included)

This drawing is part of the world-building project entitled Prism Schism.

TRYING TO FORESEE

As we observe the world, we each have our ideas about how to adapt to it and how it could be restructured to adapt to us. This results in a myriad of shifting arrangements between each individual and their surroundings. If our individual observations also take into account the observations of others, and if our individual adaptations are based on collective consideration, then together we create a future for all. (2022, charcoal on paper,

17” x 19 3/8”, 43,2 cm x 49.2 cm (frame included, sold)

FULL MOON

The frame for this artwork was a challenge for my metal worker, who heated up and beat a straight piece of steel angle-iron around a wooden form for eight hours until the desired oval shape was achieved. Two solid wood templates were destroyed in the process, but the result was beautiful. The surface effect was achieved with a grinder in order to create a visual link with the shiny metallic elements represented in the drawing. Clever technical innovations were required to attach the oval-shaped paper to its backing without the threat of subsequent wrinkling due to changes in humidity. The wooden element that spaces the acrylic sheet from the drawing was made from laminating thin strips of wood into the required elliptical shape. The oval composition was crucial to achieve a womb-like connotation, where the frame, the armour and the curled-up nature of the pose all serve as protection for the otherwise nude and vulnerable figure. (1997, charcoal on paper, 35 ¾” x 27 ¼”, 90.8 cm x 69.2 cm, frame included, sold)