Dark Grey Matter

2024 graphite on 400gsm watercolour paper 

Grey matter is where the firing of synapses in the contained universe of body and brain happens. It controls movement, emotion and memory.  Dark matter is thought to pass through all things in the universe, felt as gravitational force.

Dark Grey Matter is a consideration of the creative brain and the infinite scale of the universe. It suggests multiple forms:  intestines, food, organic forms, (and feelings of disgust), brain, synapses, medical investigations, insomnia, a flow state, chaos, disorganisation, organisation, movement and space.

The image seemingly extends beyond the picture plane with questions about what is beyond and where the tubular shape comes from and goes to and where ‘in’ and ‘out’ exist in the plane.

I’m interested in the aesthetic or principles of (traditional) drawing with simple materials, visible traces and erasure, and monochromatic values.