Trees in Water




This is a graphite pencil drawing on paper “montage” depiction developed over 30 hours of work. The image from which the drawing was captured is the surface of a local pond in Wandsworth taken via digital camera. The drawing speaks of the lived experience of dyslexia such as “visual stress” when words are perceived to move (or ‘morph’) about on the page, or when experiencing reversals of letters and numbers, in the same way that the branches of the trees morph on the movement in the water.  
 
The work attempts to communicate the phenomenon of daydreaming or “mind wandering” that dyslexics have a propensity to experience when overwhelmed with information; a holistic ability of gathering thought, looking outwards at trees through a window (for example) taking a break to put things into perspective. The metaphor of trees morphing on water conveys how myself as a dyslexic artist sees the world from my subjective experience.
 
The work is a doubling as the drawing reflects the trees above and below water, conveying the principle of symmetrical perception and chiaroscuro, light and dark. By using the montage to depict the image, the artist engaged in the process of deconstruction—or the breaking down and taking apart of the image—and then putting together to create the holistic perception of the morphing trees on water. Consistent with the idea of the vantage point, the image must be viewed from a certain distance to be apprehended and appreciated.
 
The work represents transcendence from the traumatic experience of discrimination and stigmatisation common amongst dyslexic artists as we navigate the world, thus liberating ourselves from the constraints of our marginalised existence.
 

In situ at St Botolphs Without Aldgate Church, City of London. Part of Aldgate in Winter 2021 exhibition: ​https://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/events/aldgate-in-winter-2021