Core
Embodiment
1. I first lay down on the floor a sheet of BFK Reeves paper. 2, I spread a layer of charcoal powder onto the back of one of my T-shirts and tights. 3. I put on the charcoal-dusted clothes and lay down on the paper, spreading the charcoal powder onto the paper by moving my back in ways inspired by The Alexander Technique. 4. I repeated the same process, but instead of employing charcoal, I used a brush to spread a layer of white acrylic paint onto my clothes. The white paint got stained with the charcoal. 5. When the paint on the paper had dried, I lay down naked on the paper again. Using a red marker and pencil, and both of my hands, I roughly outlined myself while moving my body. 6. In my sketchbook, I did a number of graphite and charcoal pencil studies of the human skeleton from images in anatomy textbooks. I focused on the shoulder girdle, because I was experiencing pain in this region. 7. I drew the shoulder girdle on the image of my body using graphite and charcoal pencils. To assist me, I used a mirror, my study sketches, and tactile clues: I drew while touching my shoulder.
barebones with pants
I connected the pans I spread paint with onto the drawing 'bare bones'
in the body
I juxtaposed the drawing 'embodiment' with a scaled x-ray of my spine.
blind contour spine drawing with x- ray
I printed the x- ray image of my skeleton on the mylar, I than cut out of the spine, skull, ribcage and pelvic.I superimposed the x- cutout onto my previous drawing 'Blind contour spine drawing',
skeletal
Painting the skeletal structure
I cary my father's memories in my bones
How we carry ourselves not depends only on how phisically gravity supports us, it also is a result of how we connect with our memories, to our familial history. Last month I just came back from Sombor, a town in the province of Voivodina, Serbia. It is my father home town. He spent there the first nine years of his life. This is the town from which he was deported to Auschwits. I am working on understanding how his personal story affected the way I carry my self through life.
spine profile drawing on x=ray
I drew in photoshop over an x-ray of my spine
felt sense in a good day
I transformed the paper cut out of the visceral system from ' skeletal and visceral' into a dance of shapes and paterns
swimming pelvis
after studying the pelvis from a skeleton and anatomy books, I superimposed it on an image of a pool water
Other works
visceral and skeletal
as I examined the skeletal structure, I got curious with the various anatomical systems that enable us to live and function, here is the visceral system superimposed on the skeletal
blind contour spine drawing
I spread Naples yellow acrylic paint on a BFK paper. When the paint dried I lay on my back on top of the paper. I then traced my shoulders and neck by moving china markers along my shoulders. Then I held two small pieces of red china markers, one in each hand. I moved my hands along my spine, touching each vertebra and marking the process at the same time. I teach drawing, I realize that this is a perfect example of blind contour drawing.
study of ribcage and pelvis
I combined my studies of the ribcage andt he pelvis
my ribcage and my pelvis
In order to perceive the particular skeletal structure I transferred an x-ray of my torso onto a mylar translucent paper, I then painted part of it with oil based indian yellow I created cutouts in the area of the ribcage and pelvis.
liquid imprint
I first lay down on the floor a sheet of BFK Reeves paper. I spread a layer of charcoal powder onto the back of one of my T-shirts and tights. I put on the charcoal-dusted clothes and lay down on the paper, spreading the charcoal powder onto the paper by moving my back in ways inspired by The Alexander Technique. I repeated the same process, but instead of employing charcoal, I used a brush to spread a layer of white acrylic paint onto my clothes. The white paint got stained with the charcoal.
spine imprint
I spread on a BFK paper a Naples Yellow acrylic paint. I layed on the wet paint and picked up paint from it with my back. I then laid on another BFK paper and stamped the paper on my back onto the paper. A vague imprint of my spine appeared.
pelvis- bird view
I drew the pelvis from observation of a skeleton and from anatomy books
Pelvis study
Study drawing of a pelvis from anatomy books
Pelvis drawing
Pelvis study from anatomy books
Ribcage study
I sudied the ribcage from anatomy books
Ribcage study- front
I studied ribcage from anatomy books
x-ray with lines
I worked in photoshop to convey the x ray of my lower spine
studies of pelvic area
Drawing studies from anatomy books
tactile drawing of my spine
I drew my spine, one hand touching my spine, other hand drawing
study of shoulder bones
drawing study
study of pelvis, femur and knee
study of pelvis, femur and knee
spine line drawing
On the work "bare bones' I drew the line of my spine by looking at a life size x-ray of my spine. I am interested in understanding how my back is structured that will come from different approaches and experiences that build my visual perception of my own body.
sketchbook skelletal study of the spine
In my sketchbook, I did a number of ink studies of the human skeleton from images in anatomy textbooks. This one is of the spine
Sketchbook anatomical study of the cervical spine
In my sketchbook, I did a number of ink studies of the human skeleton from images in anatomy textbooks. this study id of the cervical spine and skull
my shadow-graphical spine
I traced the image of my spine, by laying a transparent paper over an x-ray of my spine. I then photographed it. In photoshop I inverted the image and added a bit of colour.
my working studio wall
my initial drawing is is in the middle of two x-rays of my spine. One rotated horizontally, so back is front and right is left.
my study studio wall
For this series I am studiying from anatomy books, x-rays, skeleton and miror
bare bones
I am writing as the deadline for submitting the work is looming. I want to thank the opportunity I got from Celeste Network to explore my new project in a safe and supportive environment.The journey I had embarked on for this project turned out to be a personal and reviling one.
In September I started to investigate the universal mind-body dichotomy. I was interested in the correlation between the Material body and the Idea of the body, in the collision and collusion between perception and experience.
I chose to explore the theme through visual investigation of my own body, as I started experiencing pain in my spine. I have come to realize that in order to achieve the sense of physical freedom in my daily movement I have to understand the particularity of my skeletal structure, and that for a holistic 'understanding' of the material body both the experience and the perception of ones own body are necessary.
Hence my work combines experiential tactile approaches with more analytical scientific ones; some drawing are studies from scientific anatomy books, and x-ray images of my own spine, others are blind contour tactile drawings and imprints of my concrete body.
In November I had a profound experience that changed the course of my work. I was invited to visit Sombor, a town in the province of Voivodina in Serbia. It is my father home town. He spent there the first nine years of his life. This is the town from which he was deported to Auschwits. The town commemorated the story my family through an exhibition, there I found the deportation card of my father.
Upon my return I began to explore the correlation between the body and memory, examining how the collective memory and familial history affect the body. In 'I carry my father's memories in my bones' I am working on understanding how his personal story affected the way I carry my physical self through life.
while working on this piece I found myself in a heavy somber mood. The works ' skeletal an visceral' and 'felt sense in a good day ' are a lighter antidote to that.
The deadline for this project does not indicate by any means the end of my thematic journey. I am looking forward to exploring the body in movement with a time base technology, as I gain clarity around the notion of 'fixing' and 'aligning' our body to still position- there is no real stillness in life, we are always in flux.
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