Top: Untitled Drawing Ref. 11, from the series Drawings for Maati. Ink marker, whiteout on paper, 4-1/2 x 7". Made in Colombia in 2013.
Bottom: Detail of Untitled Drawing Ref. 35, from the series Drawings for Maati. Ink marker and whiteout on paper, 4-1/2 x 7". Made in Colombia in 2013.
These drawing are part of a series that depicts representative historic forms. The series uses the effect of ink bleeding to illustrate or allude to the constancy of memory. In this series, whiteout (the white correction fluid for covering typing or writing mistakes) becomes ineffective in its principal function because of the soluble marker dye. The gourd or seed form seen in the drawing at the top is a common pre-Columbian motif. The image at the bottom shows a three-square inch detail of another drawing.
In this series, very ordinary materials such as whiteout and marker are utilized to produce pictorial and physical depth. Whiteout, commonly used to erase writing mistakes, is used here for its stark reference to erasure and for its physical appearance. In combination with the bleeding effects of the marker ink, its brittleness and translucency is enough to generate atmospheric tonalities that push the image back pictorially and a slight textural relief that brings attention forth to the material surface.
See full archive of drawings from this period.