Absence/Presence
Drawing from Grief
The series "Absence/Presence: drawing from grief" is a response to profound loss. My son took his life. Words cannot convey the shock of such an impossibility. Over time, remembrances manifest in physical form. This body of work connects handcrafted objects and images with the past and the present. Originally conceived as a personal “Stations of the Cross” -- the concepts were winnowed down to “Sorrowful Mysteries” and finally distilled into six, seven foot tall hanging panels and two artists’ books. Found object monkey bars and scraps of rope were chosen for their witness to both life and loss while the soft white Arches’ Lavis Fidelis drawing paper of “Present” contrasts with the rough and torn Warrior 15W roofing felt of “Absent.” These traditional Western codices are fully functional and intended as sculptures in book form. Their blank pages invite viewers to reflect on the unwritten pages of their own lives.
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Images from the Sarah B. Smith Gallery in the McGuffey Art Center Charlottesville, Virginia
courtesy Scott F. Smith Photographer |
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Copyright 2020 by Julia Merkel. No portion of this website may be reproduced by xerographic, photographic, digital or any other means for any purpose. No portion of this website may be stored in a retrieval system, copied, transmitted or transferred in any form or by any means, whether electronic, mechanical, digital, photographic, magnetic or otherwise, for any purpose without the express, written permission of Julia Merkel. All rights reserved.
Copyright 2020 by Julia Merkel. No portion of this website may be reproduced by xerographic, photographic, digital or any other means for any purpose. No portion of this website may be stored in a retrieval system, copied, transmitted or transferred in any form or by any means, whether electronic, mechanical, digital, photographic, magnetic or otherwise, for any purpose without the express, written permission of Julia Merkel. All rights reserved.
