TRACE

n. (1) track left by person or animal walking or running, footprints or other visible signs of course pursued.
n. (2) visible or other sign of what has existed or happened.

Friday, February 17, 2006

More drawings with different traces



Part of my examination of the idea of trace is to look at what is left behind after an event or passing.

We leave traces of our path through footprints, we leave impressions where we have been sitting, we make marks as we touch things, we leave memories in the minds of those we encounter, we leave a trail of documents, we leave vestiges of our passing all around us - a disturbance in the air or vibration of sound.

We should all like to leave something permanent behind us to mark our presence/existence. It is few whose memory lives on beyond the lifespan of the people who knew us personally. Everything degrades over time and, at an atomic level, becomes assimilated into something else.

My drawings are a first attempt to represent that trace. I'd really appreciate any feedback - to see if any of these drawings capture the ephemeral nature of .... well, existence I suppose.



posted by Lynda Cornwell @ 11:51 am 2 comments

Tuesday, February 14, 2006

Trace Element Week 1

TRACE n. (1) track left by person or animal walking or running, footprints or other visible signs of course pursued.

n. (2) visible or other sign of what has existed or happened .



I am looking into TRACE - thinking about how we leave a trace in the landscape, how that trace erodes over time and the memory we hold of it. Thinking about the afterimage of a sparkler or car lights along Park Lane at night or time-based drawings with light.



TRACE, perhaps, can also be about obscuring one's identity - masking it with layer upon layer of semi-opaque material. It could conversely be about revealing identity. I am interested to see how far one can go in covering up something and still retain an understanding of what it is. Or how much one must reveal information so that the image/text can be read.

Over the next few months I shall be exploring the idea of TRACE and I welcome your comments!

posted by Lynda Cornwell @ 5:49 pm 1 comments



These drawings will serve to show my startpoint. I have been using pva glue, pen and graphite on tracing paper and drafting film. I like the transparency of the pva, the translucence of the film and the reflective quality of graphite. A combination of materials allows me to disguise or reveal other images.

I want to use these materials to develop the idea of trace, possibly in time-based drawing using light or in temporary works in the environment. I am also interested in finding the moment when an image loses its readability - how far can I go in concealing it before one's perception of the image or the sense of text is lost.

posted by Lynda Cornwell @ 12:07 pm 1 comments