Line Work

Phaptawan and I have been collaborating on a series of layered drawings since March 2019. Through repeatedly working over marks made by each other we are able to bring our own perspective and life experience to the outcome. To cement our joint authorship, we regularly alternate between directing the drawing process and following eachother’s instructions.

Through the process we each become a practitioner, producer and an audience.  We used this collaborative practice as a point of departure to approach the exhibition Line Work: Rivers of the Basin exhibited at Penrith Regional Gallery (25th October 2021 – 9th January 2022).

Phaptawan is trained as a mural painter in Thai Buddhist temples and has lived in Sydney for two decades. Her work explores making sense of place through memory and experience of being a migrant in Australia. ‘Not For Sure’ 2012 was developed during two floods in Australia and Thailand which happened at the same time. The layered text is from a Thai Buddhist book ‘Not for Sure’ by Ajarn Cha Subhatto and ‘Kularb in Oz’ by Kularb Saipradit.

My ink and pastel drawings titled Rope Work are inspired by reading Of Knots and Joints written by social anthropologist Tim Ingold. I am experimenting with visualising a philosophical and ecological text relating to memory, space, architecture and the materiality of carpentry and textiles.