Red Canyon 1 / Desfiladeiro Vermelho 1 , archival print 32 inches x 48 inches, 2017, photography by Luis Branco.

I threw the I Ching yesterday. I got the double hexagram of water, which seems to be a theme for me here in the Mata Atlantica at the Kaaysa Art Residency in Brazil with waterfalls and so much rain…. And it has also been a theme for me in my previous work in Portugal in the rivers, lakes and canyons of the Alentejo.

Drawing – Red Canyon 1 / Desfiladeiro Vermelho 1 , India Ink on watercolor paper, 2018, 20 inches x 16 inches.

The I Ching hexagram is 29. K’an / The Abysmal (Water)

“In man’s world K’an represents the heart, the soul locked up within the body, the principle of light enclosed in the dark – that is, reason. The name of the hexagram, because the trigram is doubled, has the additional meaning, “repetition of danger.” Thus the hexagram is intended to designate an objective situation to which one must become accustomed, not a subjective attitude. For danger due to a subjective attitude means either foolhardiness or guile. Hence too a ravine is used to symbolize danger; it is a situation in which a man is in the same pass as the water in a ravine, and, like the water, he can escape if he behaves correctly.” – pg. 115 The I Ching or Book of Changes (The Richard Wilhelm Translation)

I made the performative photographs of me with the red cloth, called Red Canyon 1 and 2 or Desfiladeiro Vermelho 1 and 2, last October in Portugal in collaboration with photographer Luis Branco. I thought of these images, especially the one below as somehow portraying this elemental aspect of the abysmal (water) or in Portuguese o abysmal (agua).

Red Canyon 2 / Desfiladeiro Vermelho 2 , archival print 48 inches x 32 inches, 2017, photography by Luis Branco.

So this is something of a meeting point of my continuing work with drawing, photography and performance. I have made 4 simple ink drawings this week, simple but they take some time. They are diagrammatic (of course) and based on my experiences and photographs I have taken here in Brazil with water and waterfalls. They could become still photography performances. I hope to work with a photographer here in the coming days. I also hope to continue drawing water (and other things too). The four new drawings are all small,  they are either 16 inches x 10 or 10 inches by 16.

 

 

Below I am taking the image on my table top in the atelier with my (dirty feet) standing on the chair.

 

caichoeira / waterfall

more too come… it is raining…