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Site-specific room drawing, Haus der Kunst St. Josef, Solothurn, Switzerland, 2023
Drawing / Script / Dimension
Walking into the apse of the Haus der Kunst, one finds oneself surrounded by forms made of tape and paint, in a configuration that is something between drawing and sculpture. Tape lines adhere flat to the wall and floor, but seem to bend one’s sense of the room’s dimensions.
These lines are not at rest. They reach, slide, curl, or fold back on themselves in slow movements. While the configurations are larger than the human body, they are also not unlike notational markings or typographic elements, suggesting the intimacy of hand-drawing or writing.
In traditional forms of script, the contrast between thick and thin lines is created by the angle of a pen, as it is drawn across the paper in vertical and horizontal strokes, or in a curve. The difference between thin and thick can provide a richness to the text, as well as a rhythm that aids the flow of reading.
In this installation, lines of similar weight have been placed on the walls and floor. But as the viewer walks through the room, the line weight may appear to change, sometimes to a heightened degree. This is one way in which the viewer brings the drawing to life. Lines may appear to “dance” at first look—but lines and the spaces between them are most alive through the slow “dance” of the viewer. One can watch new relationships emerge with each step, each shift in viewpoint.
That is a key to looking at the drawings on paper.