drawing statement

My drawings lead me toward a culturally layered, aesthetic understanding of the moon's surface. Because I cannot observe the subject first hand, I record a sense of the astronaut's impressions of the bizarre and wondrous world of the moon. I draw the extremes of light and dark unknown on earth, the beaten and pitted surface of the moon, the results of having no protective atmosphere, and the evidence of the astronaut's movements. This surface is similar to the rocky harsh landscapes found in early Russian icons. The collage presentation NASA created from the astronaut's photos forms the underlying structure of the moon drawings.

In their making, the drawings also recorded the physical actions of my marks, attempts to impress the moon into the paper. The larger drawing records the aftermath of the fantasy battle between those who first dreamed of travel to the moon and the American cowboys who walked there. The broken rayguns and Colt 45 pistols have become part of the moon's blasted surface.

return to drawings >

All text and images © Sarah Ratchye, 2007
Website design by Object Adjective, 2007