Embodiment

This work was made over a period of a few years when my children were a little younger. It’s a study of charcoal drawings working on cyclical themes around family life, my children’s activities (particularly karate and archery) and weekly life-drawing workshops.

As a Mum, my time slots were short and I wanted a technique that was consistent, mobile, investigative and immediate. So I returned to the subtlety, sensitivity and portability of charcoal drawing, which for me is the closest medium to painting. I wanted to translate the idea of one minute poses from my life drawing workshops into a shorthand for drawing family life. I began to draw during the waiting times at my children’s activities, e.g. karate, archery, swimming and football.

I was interested in the quality of these different energetic spaces and activities, observing movement and energetic dynamism.