Images
This drawing I pursued was part memorial, and part catharsis. Using pastel and charcoal directly on the drywall of my studio, I rendered an interpretation of a microscopic image of the bacteria Pseudomonas. This bacteria contributed to the hospitalization and eventual death of my Mother. I began and first finished the work before travelling to visit her in Toronto where she passed away. Upon returning to my studio I was confronted with a looming
mural, dark, bold, and foreboding. I consider the juxtaposition of a microscopic bacteria being larger than my body, on the wall of an architectural structure that shelters. I then began the process of cleansing, washing, erasing the original marks that were made. With healing in mind, I spent multiple days continuing to work the image on the wall, eventually not only erasing, but allowing light to come through the spectral grey that resulted in the initial wash. Throughout this entire process, until it’s eventual removal with a coat of white paint, I considered the temporality of not only the drawing, but life itself.