Rebecca McCormack-Haigh (She/Her)
I use pen, pencil and ink in my work, It demands the determination of a steady hand and a level of persistence to keep my mind in touch with my pen.
I explore pattern, symmetry, and repetition, using a square or quadrilateral as a boundary for creation. I organize a system of lines on paper that aim to direct the eye to travel around the page. Creating dynamic energy with black and white.
My work has developed from a fascination with the decorative arts and Op Art, driven by the need to draw.
I am inspired by many artists, including Alejandra Sieder, Samantha Bittman, Bridget Riley, Anni Albers, Olafur Eliasson, Yaacov Agam, and Yayoi Kusama.
The aim of the work is to direct the attention of the viewers, within our current fast-paced, digital world of information, I would like to demonstrate the power of hand-made patterns which create a sensation and demand an interaction with the viewer’s eyes.
Lost and Found
Self Portrait
Starting with a ruler, pencil and pen I begin my process by choosing a piece of paper, measuring its dimensions and finding the central point of the page. I then carefully draw the lines with a pencil and then a black ink pen on top. Each step in my process is important in creating the final outcome. I find that I am contained within the drawing, therefore I become in a meditative state.
I begin adding black ink with a brush, this is the most important step which requires me to be relaxed and rested so my hand remains steady.
The process is a very slow and therapeutic process which eventually leaves me feeling very intuned with the drawing the more I do it, therefore when I have been working on the drawing for a while, I tend to be more precise and my hand feels even more steady. It is only when I start to feel tired that I start to make small mistakes in the work. Making mistakes is a natural aspect of my work and not something that I should be ignorant of. I feel that the mistakes in the work are integral to the process-led practice that I use.
Looking Glass
Wall Of Noise
I have created a wallpaper installation that consists of screen-printed wallpaper pasted onto the wall that acts as a background for the mounted work on top. I see the tiles, the ink drawing and the screen print as extensions of the wallpaper. My aim for the work is to grasp the attention of the viewer and hope that the tiles become lost and then found within their gaze. I want the hand-drawn aspect of the work to be noticed by the viewer.
I have used wallpaper and tiles within my installation because I want to display them within a fine art setting. I am interested in the connection that the ‘decorative’ arts have to the ‘feminine’ and the typical view that it is a lower form of art within the hierarchy of art.
