At the start of the bible, the human body is seen as "made in the image of God". It then becomes a nakedness the humans are ashamed of, an instrument to populate the earth, and always the site for testing one's faith. How much can the human body suffer? How can it be a site of miracle instead? How is it sacrificed, crucified, and made a testament of destiny and holiness?
The body is the sole focus of other ancient texts, such as the ayuvedic or the inner Nei manuscript or the karma sutras. In these cases, the body is still sacred - the site of (dis)harmony or pleasure.
In science, it was a marvel that can be bled, cut up and studied, proportions, inside and out. And in science's mirror, art - ah, in art - the human body, even if similarly cut up and studied, is most varied! It becomes sticks and lines. It becomes all things perfect. It becomes movement and breath, an animation of spirit. It becomes desire and flesh, in colours expected and surprising. It is seen in a multitude of perspectives. It is itself tattooed over, transformed, and sometimes, voluntarily tormented.
In life drawing, it is line, form and texture. If one was entirely detached, drawing the body is theoretically not unlike drawing a....bowl of fruit sitting beside a supermarket chicken carcass. But because it is a living breathing human body, so distinctly individual and alive it is not actually like drawing a bowl of fruits. The body speaks of habits and histories; the body has a life and relationships and passions and hurts and quirks and secrets.
The last 3 years I have been part of a closed door life drawing group that met fortnightly. Their friendship has been such a blessing. And life drawing was one way to stay entirely present.
The image at the top was the first drawing I made at the group in June 2022. Unlike many of the members, including several seasoned artists who experimented with their media, perspectives and techniques, I didn't develop much breath or depth in my skills. My excuse was that my attendance, given work and travel, was erratic. What I did enjoy, however, was imagining the contexts and stories for each pose. That was the game or puzzle I set for myself each time - what story can I piece together from this body?
Now that the group is coming to an end (or taking a break from its current arrangement), I wanted to archive the work from some of my favorite storylines.
A one and a two
This is the only other time I edited the drawings digitally (the other time is "Hana-bi" below when I added the background in colour) by adding the coloured squares. When I got home and was looking at these ink sketches, I felt something was missing. A square. All a woman needs is a square. Nothing organic, nothing emotional, nothing terribly exciting or engaging or meaningful. But once you add a square into a picture, there is suddenly a second element and what you have done is to suggest a relationship. Two elements make a relationship.
A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do
I realised that because many of these sessions take place after a busy week of work, I often looked forward to it as an escape and relief. Many of these sessions were therefore me projecting my own tiredness and absolute relief the workweek has ended on the poses the models held. But of course, reality often creeps back in...so there are also many humorous references to just being dog tired!
I. Hua Mulan's lament
II. Amazon's not as tough a place
Oh my dear... don't be silly
Some are plain whimsy.
Yakuza on a holiday
In the 3 years we drew female models, except for this one time. The model seemed a little shy, but it was interesting to draw for a change.
Freed!
Hana-bi
I remembered the amazing drawings Beat Takeshi made while he was recovering from an accident in hospital. These drawings were incorporated into his movie Hana-Bi in a similar context, where a policeman was recovering from a gun incident in the hospital. The movie was iconic, one of Beat Takeshi's best. This series of paintings are derivative of his... a tribute. The flowers are of chrysanthemums, which I drew frequently.
Secrets and youth
Sometimes the models were so lithe and youthful. With these bodies, you can tell my envy! I simply thought of all the wonderful things of youth! All the pleasures that are troubles, all the troubles that are pleasures.
Over-thinker
These drawings were drawn at a session where I really struggled to find energy and focus. I was distracted by work and life. After I finally got into some semblance of a groove, I looked at the drawings, and this set of words came about.
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