After
several years of having participated in the design and construction
of theatre and television projects, I now work on a smaller, more individual
scale, concentrating on drawing, pottery, and sculpture.
The focus of my drawing of recent years has been umbrellas and umbrella-like
forms.
I initially came to this subject via a series of observational drawing
studies of the colony of bats at Leeds Tropical Gardens. with similar
shape, form and function reflected in the structure of the collapsible
umbrella, I noted how these forms, characterised by instantly extendible
membranes over fingers or spokes, serve a protective function.
Both umbrella and the bat, ensconced in the sheaf of it’s wings,
provide elegant, economical solutions as a flexible barrier against
the elements. Also, when wrapped, the umbrella, with it’s whorls
and vortices, displays physical laws of flow and movement that shape
objects not only in this world, but beyond.
Since the outset of this project a few years ago, the drawings have ‘travelled’ as I have changed . Drawings are now much larger. Exploring how light can charge an object with alternate meanings, I treat my subject meticulously as if I were a cartographer, recording a landscape from above. Metaphor and distortion and current interests are absorbed into drawings. Recent umbrellas are set adrift in the black void of space, the thin membrane floating like a disembodied satellite or weather balloon. Reflecting my hobby of eagerly dabbling in astronomy books, I have always felt absolute fascination and awe at the austere vistas, processes, and unknown spaces in the universe.
Observational
drawing is an interpretation of reality as mediated through the body.
For this reason I never, if possible, draw from photographs as the camera
has it’s own inbuilt bias. Drawing from photographs lacks the resistance
and immediacy of drawing from life, yet can create an intriguing sense
of distance from the original event. To disentangle the most delicate
and confusing of structures botanical and medical drawing is still used,
over and above photography, to clarify an object and optimise detail.
I also do working drawings to work through and clarify my ideas for
3 dimensional artwork using pottery. Some drawings choose to reveal
their processes or ‘journey’, while with others it remains
entirely hidden or ‘smoothed over.’
My motivation in drawing is always the solving of a new visual problem.
Copying nature outright is rarely sufficient. The challenge is always
to reveal the beauty of it’s design from a fresh angle.
Sophie
Flynn .
Sophie was recently featured in an issue of Online Arts magazine Silver Lion. To read the article which covers her life, includes many examples of her work and also delves into the deeper psychological roots of her inspirations ... click here
