See, Shade, Shape | solo show | Northeastern Illinois University Fine Arts Center Gallery | Fall 2022
See, Shade, Shape / solo exhibition / Northeastern Illinois University / Chicago / 2022
See, Shade, Shape exhibition presents a collection of drawings, prints, and collages -- a body of work that developed during Covid lockdown in 2020 as a way to respond to recurring blurry fragmentations of my dreams that defied all narrative logic. Daily, I created patterns out of inkblots by repeatedly folding paper. My daily walking meditation around these pieces on my studio floor connected to my ongoing interest in ancient labyrinths that were believed to trap malevolent spirits or act as defined paths for ritual dances; which resulted in my own type of labyrinth-like installation. Thinking about symbols, the body, the striking symmetry of inkblots, and the various interpretations they conjure led me to playfully invent my own interlanguage that communicates through an accidental code, whether it's the unexpected expressions of inkblot, or my own body as a sigil. The poem incorporated in this exhibition is from the publication The Inkblot Record by Dan Farrell published by Coach House Books in 2000s. I discovered this poem around the same time that I began creating the inkblot drawings and I have turned to this poem frequently over the past few years for inspiration.
"See the way they are drawn here with all the legs makes them look like that, like spiders. See, the wings and here and it's all red and pink like bloody birds get. See, the wings are here and the body, hey, it really looks a lot like a moth, see it really does, yeah. See, there’s one of each side of the stick, they have a little antennae like this on each side of the stick, they have little antennae like this and it looks like they’re really working to lift it up. 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. Seems three-dimensional. Seems to be a prettier butterfly underneath him. Seen from the back, can’t see her head, heads up. Set of ears here, folded back. Shaded here - looks like a stone. Shading here adds to it I suppose. Shading is mold forming on bread mass. Shading is mountain area, lightest parts are flatlands. Shading looks like thick leafy tree, a good shade tree. Shading makes it look fuzzy. Shadows and blotches suggest a 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 gray stone. Shape inside a heart effect, a real heart. 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 of urn, gray of wrought iron. Shape only. Shape, tail coming out. Shape with pendulum sticking out. Shaped like a heart. Shaped like that." - The Inkblot Record by Dan Farrell, Coach House Books, 2000
* Images by Tom Van Eynde
See, Shade, Shape exhibition presents a collection of drawings, prints, and collages -- a body of work that developed during Covid lockdown in 2020 as a way to respond to recurring blurry fragmentations of my dreams that defied all narrative logic. Daily, I created patterns out of inkblots by repeatedly folding paper. My daily walking meditation around these pieces on my studio floor connected to my ongoing interest in ancient labyrinths that were believed to trap malevolent spirits or act as defined paths for ritual dances; which resulted in my own type of labyrinth-like installation. Thinking about symbols, the body, the striking symmetry of inkblots, and the various interpretations they conjure led me to playfully invent my own interlanguage that communicates through an accidental code, whether it's the unexpected expressions of inkblot, or my own body as a sigil. The poem incorporated in this exhibition is from the publication The Inkblot Record by Dan Farrell published by Coach House Books in 2000s. I discovered this poem around the same time that I began creating the inkblot drawings and I have turned to this poem frequently over the past few years for inspiration.
"See the way they are drawn here with all the legs makes them look like that, like spiders. See, the wings and here and it's all red and pink like bloody birds get. See, the wings are here and the body, hey, it really looks a lot like a moth, see it really does, yeah. See, there’s one of each side of the stick, they have a little antennae like this on each side of the stick, they have little antennae like this and it looks like they’re really working to lift it up. 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. Seems three-dimensional. Seems to be a prettier butterfly underneath him. Seen from the back, can’t see her head, heads up. Set of ears here, folded back. Shaded here - looks like a stone. Shading here adds to it I suppose. Shading is mold forming on bread mass. Shading is mountain area, lightest parts are flatlands. Shading looks like thick leafy tree, a good shade tree. Shading makes it look fuzzy. Shadows and blotches suggest a 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 gray stone. Shape inside a heart effect, a real heart. 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 of urn, gray of wrought iron. Shape only. Shape, tail coming out. Shape with pendulum sticking out. Shaped like a heart. Shaped like that." - The Inkblot Record by Dan Farrell, Coach House Books, 2000
* Images by Tom Van Eynde