These newest works resumed where my recent Black Spots of Winter left off, taking circles and spots further to include black holes torn out of papers – negative spots! These pieces are double-sided – why not? From the start I liked the process and what was emerging and decided to leave the question of presentation of the double-sided pieces for later.

The flipping, staining and rubbing both sides of the gessoed pages with the paint-soaked rag was seductive. I was enamored with how the textured surfaces spoke through the paint as the stains of color enhanced the paper’s puckers and creases. Stacking and peeling, using negative holes and positive circles as stencils, transferring the painted, stained shapes back and forth from sheet to sheet, new pieces have continued to emerge through simple pressure and staining.

Spreading out the many holes, circles and whole sheets, I began arranging, photographing and rearranging again, creating many variants of re-combined parts. The impulse to do so came unbidden and this act places the work outside the concept of “original”.

The idea that photographic documentation of an impermanent assemblage could be enough has resurfaced with compelling force in response to the current context of plague. With limits crowding in and around to the point of purposelessness or suffocation, the sense that everything is running out simultaneously – time, materials, motivation to fabricate – might well leave the creative impulse free-standing, unencumbered by any illusion of physical permanence .

 

– Diane Sophrin
  Vermont. 5.5.20