Critique 1

Having used crisp white paper felt pure, intimate, and present, especially with the extensive use of negative space (unused space).

The drawings felt calming yet confronting as there was nowhere else to look. The viewer felt like they were on display due to the eyes staring back at them. They felt followed. This came across with a subtle political statement, with emphasis on particular facial features that are portrayed in each drawing.

The expression in each drawing was neither in agreeance, nor disagreeance. There is no happiness and/or sadness. They are neutral and unknown, hiding the true emotional resonance. This built up a curiosity, a desire to know more, in the audience. The term 'melancholic' was mentioned. Melancholic is a temperament characterised by perfectionism and idealism. Melancholic people are often deep in thought.

The works themselves didn’t feel like studies. They didn't come across as 'how to draw an eye/mouth/nose'. The proportions helped with viewing a full face without the need for a drawing spanning the full page. They were a finished collection that felt like one full drawing. They 'blurred' together and weren't separated. It was noticed that there were hidden faces within the install layout of the drawings, again combining them together. (See photos below). They fit together like puzzle pieces.

Notes Taken:

• White paper

• Pure, intimate

• Pleasant

• Nowhere else to look

• Politicized statement - features

• Neither agree nor disagree

• Identifiers - nose ring

• Doesn't give study ('learn how to draw this')

• A collection

• Desire to know more

• Drawn to large one in the centre

• A presence

• Not individual - a collective

• Puzzle pieces

• Expression? neutral/unknown - sad? melancholic? mask?