Toolmarks

‘Toolmarks’ is a series of drawings made with ink, rust and soil. I used silicone casts and found objects to make marks on the paper’s surface. To explore the mark-making abilities of vastly different materials, I used them as tools: stamping, dragging, pushing, swinging, and dropping them onto paper.

The silicone made thin and organic marks while the metal embossed the paper with its ridges and sharp edges. Layering the marks consecutively allowed the materials and the movement range of my body to inform and respond to the visual outcomes in constant negotiation. This feedback loop, a collection of traces, varied according to the material properties and applications of the objects.

Traces and intentional or unintentional mark-making are used in my process to show the kinetic terms through which materials interact when making art. Each drawing reveals my movements as a multisensory, responsive and thinking being in the act of making, a performance of artistic labour and material exploration.