Happy to announce that from November 2 - November 30, 2019, my good friend Jenelle Szucs and I will be showcasing some brand new and original drawings at the Londonderry Library at Edmonton Public Library! Hope you’re able to check it out— I’m excited to see Jenelle’s liminal drawings and I had fun breaking out the india ink and brush linework again!
Artist Statement
When a caterpillar turns into a butterfly, it must first digest itself.
It spins a silky cocoon, which hardens into a chrysalis, and its insides dissolve into goo. The caterpillar's body must rebuild itself before it can emerge as a butterfly. While in its cocoon, the caterpillar exists in a liminal state.
"Liminal" means to stand at a threshold, where order dissolves into doubt. This state of disorientation is related to rituals and metamorphosis, such as coming of age rituals, the trickster figure in mythology, or the effect of psychological therapy. The concept can also apply to physical space, as when one looks through a dark doorway, or to mental space, as when one goes through a process of self-realization.
Like the caterpillar, when one emerges from a liminal space, they are transformed.
This series of ink drawings work together to explore that state of disorientation and the uncertainty of liminality. Ink appears in various shades and textures, revealing undefined and transitional space or feeling. Space feels foreboding, and text offers an ambiguous but playful understanding of existence. The drawings together respond to liminality in different ways- some with humour, some with fear.
