DRAWING IN THE SHADOWS

Drawing In

To draw something has a number of derivations or possibilities beyond the act of picture making. The idea of ‘to pull’, or ‘to drag’ can reference the stretching of time or cleaning a pheasant, but the slightly sinister version to ‘draw in’ talks of shrinking space or light, making space for something to lurk in the shadows.

The Shadow

There is something magical about a shadow. It is not a thing, it has no substance and although it is a copy of the object that is casting it, it neither looks nor feels close to the originator. Like the words ‘Drawing in’ its idea grows as you unpack it. As the light draws in the shadows are inflected and are dragged out.

Drawing in the Shadow was a collaborative experiment by Stephanie James and Tom Hall. Having been married for 25 years the two artists explore the idea of the body and their relationship to its changes both physically and in how we might see them. Hybrids, body-morphing and the cyborg are used to discuss familiar relationships and parenting roles.