The Christ of the Light Mosque-Church Drawings - I have a clouded memory of encountering a large architectural drawing of a cathedral in Italy. As much as I can recall, the drawing was composed of thousands of delicate lines illustrating, in impeccable detail, the front façade of the building. The drawing occupied an entire wall in a narrow room that required that I be in close proximity to it. From this intimate distance the density and precision of the line work was revealed, along with the seamlines where patches of paper had been stitched into the enormous sheet. Perhaps the architect made a mistake or changed the design and the patch was a correction, or had the ancient drawing been damaged over the years and later repaired? The drawing presented the passage of time; the feeling was similar to walking on a marble cathedral floor that craftsmen constructed over centuries. The experience of the immense drawing was overwhelming; it saturated my peripheral vision and invited me to occupy the drawing as I would the architecture it represented.
In the subsequent decade, motivated by the memory of the drawing, I made several attempts to locate it, uncover the architect and learn what building was depicted. My unsuccessful inquiries cast enormous doubt on my memory, did I dream this drawing? Does it even exist? I don’t know. And yet, the memory of this elusive drawing, the feeling it evoked, and the longing to experience it again is the inspiration behind my recent work.
In the memory of a drawing I discovered that the size, composition and the ability of a drawing to occupy the viewers’ peripheral vision provokes a unique viewing experience, and one that draws upon and parallels the feeling of architecture. Through the exploration of this idea I have produced a series of graphite wall drawings that investigate the intersection of architecture and its drawn representations.
The Christ of the Light Mosque-Church No. 1:2 2017 254.0 x 342.9cm (100 x 135 inches) Graphite on paper
Drawn in collaboration with: Erica Burgsma, Sahana Dharmaraj, Henry Dyck, Anastasia Koutsoukis, Carlo Rosel and Christopher Warner-Smith.
The Christ of the Light Mosque-Church No. 1:2 2017 Detail
The Christ of the Light Mosque-Church No. 1:3 2018 254.0 x 342.9cm (100 x 135 inches) Graphite on paper
The Christ of the Light Mosque-Church No. 1:3 2018 Detail
The Christ of the Light Mosque-Church No.1:1 2016 55.9cm x 28.0cm (22 x 11 inches) Graphite on paper, Installation view
The Christ of the Light Mosque-Church No.1:1 2016 55.9cm x 28.0cm (22 x 11 inches) Graphite on paper, Installation view
The Christ of the Light Mosque-Church No.1:1 Recto 2016 55.9cm x 28.0cm (22 x 11 inches) Graphite on paper
The Christ of the Light Mosque-Church No.1:1 Verso 2016 55.9cm x 28.0cm (22 x 11 inches) Graphite on paper