Adventures of a Drawing Boy, 2016-2019
The fourteen 23 x 23 inch, mixed-media drawings on paper, Adventures of a Drawing Boy, are a commentary on the cerebral life of the typical high-school or university art student. The image of a boy drawing could also represent me, the artist, the perpetual student of art and life. As indicated by the title for each portrait, he embodies different personas. They could be a catalogue of the marks of self-awareness.
As well, the drawings provide a different experience for the viewer. The random composition and deep layering of the content are an endless distraction from the image of the drawing boy. This becomes apparent to most viewers trying to simultaneously observe the drawing boy while struggling to read the surrounding texts, doodles, collages and other graphic and painterly marks. This is identical to the dilemma any student must confront everyday as they struggle to focus on their studies while avoiding the tempting distractions of school life.
These drawings were made for a satellite exhibition space operated by the Burnaby Art Gallery at a nearby public library. The library gallery was busy with students working at tables and desks near the display walls. I decided to develop a project that honours their hard work, while offering them an occasional momentary distraction from their studies.
