Skins and bleeds
washi papers, Chinese ink, indigo pigment, blood
New work is starting to take some form. And it is a counterweight to the sculptural skin membranes I photograph in the landscape.
Thinking about bodily skin as a barrier and a container, the bleeds are the inside visible from the outside. A bleed seeps through, crosses over, transforms the surface of the skin. Expresses vulnerability, imperfection.
kozo paper, Chinese ink, indigo pigment, coffee
I’ve been thinking about bleeding stains since 2021, and I didn’t really have the language to talk about the work I was making without talking about my own bodies connection to it. The ink drawings are a visual trace, bleeding in the moment and changing as they dry. Like Victor Hugo’s tasche drawings, they are impulsive and manipulated by hand.
Working with my hands is imperative right now. I crave touch, physical connection to the paper, ink. I need to see the little gold dots emerge from the bleeding spots, as the pigment stays on the surface.
This has potential to use pigments with rabbit skin glue as a binder. And perhaps the living inks from natural substances so that chemistry and exposure to oxygen over time will cause the inks to evolve.
The papers I’m using have come from a sample pack of Japanese rice and mulberry papers with varying degrees of translucency. They are just delicious to work with.