Drawing, Cognition, and The Human Biped (2012- 2015)

‘Cogn: I’ Performance and exhibition at The Drum arts centre, Aston, Birmingham (2015)

‘Relative Lines 1 and 2’ presented at MFA show 2015 Goldsmiths University, London UK

‘Drawin on Darwin’ was a live drawing performance with audience engagement for the ‘Joint Winter Meeting of Primate Society of Great Britain and the Anatomical Society’ on 15th December 2015, University of Birmingham. ‘Drawin on Darwin 2’ was commissioned by a private client (see video and poster below).

‘Hills Building Foyer Foot-drawing - University of Birmingham School of Psychology ’ (December 2012) The foyer drawing took five hours and included some public participation activities. I collaborated with the post-graduate students on their experiments with drawing and cognition and delivered rehabilitation workshops to the ‘Stroke Survivors Group’ at the University.

Background

Drawing is the primary media in my arts practice. I discovered an unusual ability to accurately draw with various parts of my body that I believe stems from conditioning as a dancer and martial arts practice. In addition to gallery works I enjoy engaging with the public in live drawing performances and exploring art-science thresholds.

In 2007, I moved from being a part-time project architect on hospital design to establishing an Art and Health practice using drawing as a tool for rehabilitation, eventually developing this into a work I called ‘Thisability’ (2010)- see ‘Projects’.

I went on to challenge my drawing capability through Research and Development support from the Arts Council of England in 2012 for ‘Drawing, Cognition and The Human Biped’, I approached the University of Birmingham Schools of Biosciences and Psychology respectively, where I presented my drawing practice for scientific scrutiny and delivered joint art-science lectures. In return, I was offered access to fossils, skeleton specimens and lab space to explore drawing and locomotion.

This project also included the research for my Master of Fine Arts degree at Goldsmiths University, London (2013-15) which investigated drawing, dance and the disability-ability spectrum. At the final MFA degree show I presented ‘Relative Lines 1 and 2’.

Works were subsequently shown in two exhibitions held in 2015: ‘Cogn:I’ at The Drum arts centre, Birmingham and ‘cogn: the Root of I’ at Winterbourne House, University of Birmingham.