See, Shade, Shape / mixed media works on paper / 2020
"See the way they are drawn here with all the legs makes them look like that, like spiders. See, the wings are here and the body, hey, it really looks a lot like a moth, see it really does, yea. See, these lines, they look hairy to me. See, they have big hats on like witches wear and big noses but they're not really witches. See this all comes out, like his cheeks and he's got these funny eyes too looking right out, see, right here, like he is mean. Shaded here - looks like a stone. Shading here adds to it I suppose. Shading is mountain area, lightest parts are flatlands. Shading looks like thick leafy tree, a good shade tree. Shadows and blotches suggest are not perfectly circular shape, you know the way ice cream cones - it's always misshapen. Shape, shape and appendages. Shape and head; climbing. Shape black bear, no real body. Shape, coloring, white and grey stone. Shape, it has no head, part of tail, more nearly a moth with open wings, color has nothing to do with it. Shape of a pillow. Shape only. Shape, tail coming out. Shape with pendulum sticking out. Shaped like a heart. Shaped like that".
Farrell, Dan. The Inkblot Record. Coach House Books, 2000.
See, Shade, Shape is a collection of drawings and studies that investigate the interlanguage generated by inkblots and symbols. Inspired by the Rorschach inkblot method of psychological testing, I create patterns with India ink on Thai Kozo paper; the resulting images become material for mixed media collage works. Thinking about symbols, the striking symmetry of inkblots, and the various interpretations they conjure, has led me to invent my own interlanguage; a rule-governed system for communicating through a shared code of arbitrary symbols. These works invite further reading for those who want to know more, and shortcuts for those who want to know less.