Kirsty Hall: Jar No 19, Scratched drawing on photograph, Jan 2011

Kirsty Hall: Jar No 19, Scratched drawing on photograph, Jan 2011

Contents: Scratched drawing on photograph
Released into wild: 19/1/11 at 16.00
General Location: Clifton, Bristol
Status: Found. Currently in Brighton!

Comments:

Apparently it’s all about colour and benches this week.

I found this photographic drawing in my box of ‘reject photos that I play around with’. This particular photo was from The Viral Garden series way back in 1998/1999 but the scratched drawing was made in 2007 when I was reading Karen Michel’s excellent book, The Complete Guide to Altered Imagery.

I originally made this by wetting the photograph to soften the emulsion then scratching into the surface, probably with a pin. I know this because I had helpfully written about it on the back of the photo. I wanted to use this drawing but I didn’t want the writing on the back of the image, so I choose a plain red photograph, stuck it to the back of the image and then cut around both photos to echo the shape of the drawing.

Kirsty Hall: Jar No 19, The back of the Jar, Jan 2011

As a final step, I went over the edge with a red Sharpie because the white cut edge was completely killing the piece for me. As soon as I did that, I was happy with it. Funny how the tiniest detail can make or break a piece.

I’m intrigued by the distortion on these photos. In reality, the lines of the drawing are thin but there’s a huge variation in how much distortion each jar has and this one has a lot of ‘waviness’, as you can see from the photo.

Kirsty Hall: Jar No 19, Scratched drawing on photograph, Jan 2011

I’ve been thinking about how to exploit this aspect of the jars; I’m pondering mirrors and glass within glass. Hmmm…

Kirsty Hall: Jar No 19, Scratched drawing on photograph, Jan 2011 Kirsty Hall: Jar No 19, Scratched drawing on photograph, Jan 2011 Contents: Scratched drawing on photograph Released into wild:...