Abstract

Chloe Twells was invited by the directors of the Ropewalk Gallery, Barton Upon Humber, UK, to create a substantial new body of work for a major exhibition of large scale architectural drawings. The draws were created over a two year period and ranged in scale from 2 feet X 2 Feet to a maximum of 10 feet X 7 feet. The exhibition was curated by Richard Hatfield.

Artist Statement:
The hermeneutic circle of the sum of the parts being reflected in the whole provides the philosophical backdrop to the recent work. The fundamental materials of buildings, in this case, stone and brick, are viewed at close quarters and are drawn in detail. The stones and bricks are composite parts of the buildings but reference the nature of the whole by their very own character; solid, hard, fired, carved and all relatively permanent. The brick and stone studies form part of an evolving topology. Fundamental formalism is at the root of this current interest and the stones and the bricks act as modules of longevity. Though irregular; worn and pit-marked they provide useful metaphors for the building blocks of life, social patterns and compartments of almost any cultural category.

Classical architecture offers an opportunity to study history, power, empire, decay and aesthetics; the stones, fashioned centuries ago, were laid and fixed in ordered complexity and existed as part of a building but now may constitute remains. The remains of the structures have, through time, attained the status of important historical sites; but the configurations of individual stones provide a reflection of the site and belie what the buildings may have been in terms of stature and function as well as ecclesiastical, political and, now, historical importance. The drawings in this series are purposely large-scale.

Specific sites in Lincolnshire feature importantly in this body of work. Lincoln Cathedral, Saint Peter’s Church, Barton-Upon-Humber and Thornton Abbey Gatehouse, are included owing to their proximity and their part in the narrative of architectural history. The drawings deal with size, scale and proportion and are monochromatic, what matters here is the monumental nature of these special landmarks.

A number of processes have been employed in the production of the work; a lens has been used in the initial image capture; then once the images have been transferred to a two-dimensional surface, usually via print technology, they act as developmental sketches, or proofs. The proofs are projected onto my studio wall for reference, reminiscent of the traditional use of a camera obscura, before being hand drawn.