Curated by Andrew Folan RHA, Drawing Time prioritises work in which time is intrinsic to its conception. While drawings result from condensing durational factors into singular static images, the synthesis of time and duration are extant and legible in the final outcome. ‘How long did that take?’ is a question arising, when viewing labour-intensive drawing. More important than actual production time is the range of decisions made while working, resulting in dynamic, mutable, time conscious and transitionally aligned drawings.
All of the works in this show were produced over periods ranging from hours to months. They result from systematic recordings and successive actions, as well as spontaneous projections. The form of each drawing has evolved progressively, while the artist is fully attuned to their subject, simultaneously reviewing and developing their drawings.
We don’t see drawing to the extent that we see according to drawing. Each line has a beginning, a progression and an end. The line has become a series of positions that incrementally align to occupy space and time. In the field of optics, the progression of a point and its transformation into a line – as it traces across our view – is known as persistence of vision. In drawing, the progressively extending line represents duration. Every action unfolds in the artist’s mind, before finding its pencil point of contact, vectorising into and beyond the drawing surface. Sequentiality is calibrated within the context of the before and after. Finished drawings can be deconstructed – mentally rewinding their sequence of production.
Artists: Aideen Barry, Gary Coyle, David Eager Maher, Brendan Earley, Joy Gerrard, James Hanley, Pat Harris, Alice Maher, Kieran Moore, Eilis O’Connell, Mick O’Dea, Magnhild Opdøl, Una Sealy, Dorothy Smith, Donald Teskey.
