About "Lines"

Back in 2020, during the first Covid lockdown, a daily walk became both a necessity and a luxury. For those of us lucky enough to live in relatively unpopulated rural areas, we had unlimited access to open fields and forests. We were stuck in our village for a while, but the surrounding fields gave no visible reminders of the troubled events unfolding, and so it was easier to remain calm. Other members of my family were experiencing it differently, living in apartments with no garden and their daily outings were confined to concrete and tarmac.

The Lines Project started out as a distraction, and a wish to keep communication lines open between myself and my brother living in a French city. 

In Dorset, walking through Charity Woods near my home with the sun shining through the trees and everything so verdant, under dense cover of the canopy the vertical lines of the tree trunks looked almost black and contrasted so beautifully with the emerald and lime foliage.



Ideas began to percolate and I saw other "lines" too; I noticed lines of perspective in pathways receding to the horizon, lines of fencing, lines of telegraph poles cutting across fields. I began collecting photos on my phone. I talked to my brother about my little obsession, and he started taking his own photos of lines too. His were urban and gritty.



Other members of my family joined in.

In reality, this little family distraction only lasted a few weeks. For me though, the Lines Project kept me going in the studio throughout that long, hot summer; for the first time I started using landscape as a starting point for some new artwork. I did a series of monotypes inspired by those walks in Charity Wood.

My thoughts about "Lines" developed further, and It occurred to me that the tree trunks in Charity Woods - as vertical lines - could be seen as the bars of a cage. Or do we look instead at the spaces between the trees as glimmers of hope and freedom?

In any given challenging situation, do we look for the opportunities or do we dwell on the loss? I try to be the person who sees the spaces and not the bars, but I have to work hard at it.

Here are some quotes from literature that my brother and I enjoyed discussing in relation to the lockdown situations we were in:

Meanwhile, the trees were just as green as before; the birds sang and the sun shone as clearly now as ever. The familiar surroundings had not darkened because of her grief, nor sickened because of her pain.

Thomas Hardy, "Tess of the D'Urbervilles"

Dans la ville, bâtie en escargot sur son plateau, à peine ouverte vers la mer, une torpeur morne régnait.

Victor Hugo, "La Peste"