Dimensions: 20″ x 26″
Medium: Charcoal
Artist Statement:
Originally inspired by a story from an interview with a classmate where the power shuts off, I wanted to explore the dynamic between light and shadow. Brainstorming ideas around the concept of light and shadow resulted in realizations of the limited capabilities of our eyesight, fear manifesting in darkness, and my personal need for control and knowledge. This is a series of nine charcoal drawings that when organized in a grid, create a larger, unified image which plays on the limited capabilities of our eyesight. When the nine pieces are seen separately, they do not mean much as when they are placed together, it is only because of one another that a full image is formed. Additionally, the blocking out of overlapping line drawings, results in the original images being harder to see. I find that most fear stems from the unknown and I created this piece as a reminder that things cannot be looked at in isolation but require context. I decided to outline images of a skull, teeth, and circles as symbols of fear, whether it be death or claustrophobia. As for material, I worked with charcoal because its more solid than graphite and would be more effective in creating contrast with the solid white of the page.
This is the original image of overlapping outlines, but as I transferred it to paper, and later blocked out sections with charcoal, details are lost while some shapes are added.
After sketching out the outlines, I marked sections out with charcoal to try and envision the final output. However, working on multiple panels at once was inefficient and slowed down my process in comparison to working on them individually.
Working on each panel individually allowed me to distance myself from the final image that would be created and focus on the pieces.
Working solely with charcoal and creating sharp lines without tape or paper as a barrier proved to be a challenge and although I love the additional commentary of charcoal, such a messy material, creating precise shapes, I wish I would have made my material more obvious in the piece itself. Perhaps I could have drawn on a canvas and incorporate the fall out instead of erasing all traces of charcoal outside the lines.