Mediators and The Vitality of Matter in Drawing Practices

What is it about?

Materials are a vital collaborator in building human and nonhuman worlds yet are often cast as simply the assistant or prop in art practice. This project report looks at an experimental drawing exercise, which gives non-traditional drawing materials a crucial position in the drawing and mark making discipline. This exercise is part of a larger methodology that seeks to give materiality a more central role in wider arts practice in order to bring individual materials or objects into a closer working relationship with the artist.

Featured Image

Photo by FÍA YANG on Unsplash

Photo by FÍA YANG on Unsplash

Why is it important?

Materials are a dynamic and vibrant force in drawing practices, acting as both subject and object, but how often do we consider the materials’ actual contribution to these practices? How often do we consider the agency of our material collaborators? In answer to these questions, the drawing exercise which is explored in this report utilises alternatives to the traditional tools of drawing practices (for example pens, pencils or brushes) to explore how material can be used as both illustrator and illustrated to develop a deeper relational knowledge of the materials which surround us.