Coping with COVID (Self-portrait with Hands Tied)
charcoal on paper
2020
Always searching for a performative approach to visual art, last summer as the lockdown wore on, I drew self-portraits with my hands tied together to express the frustration and impotence that overwhelmed me. The art supply store was closed, of course, so I made do with some old, yellowed, newsprint I found in the bottom of a box. I stripped, wrapped a scratchy rope around me and bound my wrists together. I then awkwardly picked up a piece of charcoal as I stared in the mirror and did the best I could.
The exhibition originated at Trinity Buoy Wharf in London then traveled to Drawing Projects UK, Trowbridge and to Cooper Gallery, University of Dundee.