Why is repetition in mark making and abstract patterns important in your work?
I have been interested in repetition for many years now, both on the macro level of repetition with the daily rituals we all have from waking up in the morning, to brushing our teeth, eating breakfast, lunch and dinner, going to the studio, going to bed. Alongside the micro details of repetition. For example, eating the same breakfast every day at the same time and what happens when the timing of when you have breakfast changes and you are no longer eating the breakfast you were once familiar with and the fear of what happens when something unexpected changes in your pattern.
For me, my drawings are exploring the micro details of repetition. The repeated line, shape, and colored pattern that is created and the comfort I feel when I am able to repeat pattern, while also tapping into the fear I can sometimes feel if I am no longer able to create the same pattern again. I am also very interested in where my mind goes on a more subconscious level when I draw not knowing quite where the drawing is going to take me and also continuously wanting to go back to this place.
In my work I am also exploring repetition on a macro level, thinking about how I can create a micro detail of repetition on a larger scale.
An example of me exploring repetition on a more macro level is when I did a one night performance in Stationers Hall London.
In the one night performance, I recreated the experience of when I was drawn to of the sound created when I made a large scale wall pencil drawing of circles at a 2 week residency at the Museum of Contemporary Art Calesetta.
On the night of the performance I recreated this sound by repeatedly stamping circles onto paper. The sound was amplified into the space and the performance was a way for me to translate the repetitive sound I was drawn to when I created the wall drawing.
Utilizing multiple mediums, what motivates you to incorporate drawing with different styles of art making?
I have been interested in working with different materials from drawing, sound, performance, photography, and sculpture. More recently I am drawn to working with pencils and bright pens in particular.
In previous installations I have created, it is a consideration for how I can work with multiple mediums on one piece and the relationship different mediums have together if combined into the same piece.
In my work I like to consider the relationship between drawing and sound. What happens when drawing, sound, and performance are combined. Or when a photograph I take inspires my drawing. I enjoy playing with both the idea of my drawings being seen as works on paper on the wall alongside how I can push the boundaries of my drawing to create sculptural installations.
A more recent solo exhibition I had, curated by one of my best friends (Kaja Cxzy Andersen) at her space Sidequest Gallery in Brooklyn, New York, was a series of triangle canvases with multiple colored drawn triangles from red, blue to green. Alongside 2 large scale drawings – one of multiple green triangles that were repeated and a more bright colored drawing of lines and triangles combined together.
In this exhibition, it was thought about how the triangle canvases could be seen in a more sculptural way. By changing the positioning of the triangle canvases in a way you may imagine them to be seen, placed side by side to each other. By positioning one of the drawings on the floor in the corner of the room. Alongside placing two drawings one on top of each other, the drawings embodied a more sculptural form.
For my thesis show at SVA, I also explored how I could take my drawings outside of their original context of being drawings on the wall and transform them into sculptural installations.
For this piece, I created four double sided drawings exploring internal and external experiences we all have. The drawings on the front side speak of relatable external experiences we all have. While the drawings on the back speak of the more intimate internal experiences we have which at times may be harder to articulate into words.
An example of one of the double sided drawings is the struggles someone who is unable to see without their glasses has, and my own personal struggles I have with not being able to see without my glasses, not being able to see the sea.
A text piece written on one of the external drawings – I can hardly see the sea. On the other side of the drawing, I am describing what’s happening internally by drawing a study of the back of my eye and what is going on inside my eye that is stopping me from seeing.
How the drawings were positioned was in a way where the viewer could walk in and around the drawings, inviting the viewer to think about their own internal and external experiences.
Using drawing, photography, wool, and collage I created this installation.
