When I visited Elie Beach, I contemplated life in the Liminal zone, between sea and shore, and I studied the areas of rock pools which would appear and disappear depending on the tides. Creating an artwork around the metaphor of Liminality and the tides led me to create a couple of abstract pieces based inspired by the aesthetics of the rock pools. Gazing into these beautiful pools, one can observe all kinds of wonderful shapes and textures; random pieces of sea lettuce floating, bubbly bladder wrack, octopus-like sea kelp, jagged rocks and shells, smooth pebbles and occasionally the odd dead crab or jellyfish.
I used charcoal combined with East Neuk of Fife seawater to represent the tidal battles against sea and shore. Also partly as a conceptual choice, as to me the Liminal zone is a bit of a grey area- not entirely black or white- in-between and unknown. The charcoal also allowed me to a great deal of manipulation with my mark-making by adding and subtracting to create the shapes and forms I desired. I was also able to manipulate the medium to create interesting and contrasting textures, replicating grainy sand, splashy sea foam, bubbles and organic matter.
These pieces will hopefully contribute to the research project, and possibly included in a travelling exhibition.
Antidotal Recall 