JANET BANZACA
ink on paper
#4 38x56cm
ink on paper
All my work emerges from a fascination with simple material processes which I manipulate in often complex ways to create surprising yet evocative images. My starting points are manufactured or natural objects with forms that I enjoy, including archaeological artefacts, shells, fossils or everyday items.
My ideas for the images in this series began as I examined
the surface and texture of sea urchin shells and the branching structures found
within natural sponges and slices of sourdough bread. I explored how ink and water combined on
paper in different circumstances such as when the whole surface of the paper
was soaked or when I just wet specific areas. The ink and water moved over the paper
and produced pooling, seeping, bleeding and staining, which, in turn, left
imprints of the natural sponges or slices of bread that I had placed on the
surface.
#3 56x38cm
ink and nylon thread on paper
#2 42x30cm
ink on paper
The resulting images appear both subtle and transient. Then, once the paper had dried, I used tools to stamp, tear and puncture areas of the surface in order to introduce a relief element. Sometimes I stitched threads through the resulting holes extending the surface of the drawing further.
The processes create images which appear delicate and fragile and remind me of the transformations of growth and decay in the natural world.
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chris.hough@citylit.ac.uk / fine art 2020 city lit london / amanda.knight@citylit.ac.uk