Thermal blossoms sketch Drawing

This is the sketch of the large scale painting Thermal Blossoms. It is drawn on graph paper, as the artworks are inspired from thermal maps. The graph paper refers to the map aesthetic. I use highlighters and vivid colour pencils to depict the climatic urgency. We have domesticated ourselves, as much as the flora and fauna around us, to live in the concrete jungles we have created. Populating the microcosm of the exhibition space like desiccated human souls, Calamus Aromatica (2020) is a battalion of tall cane plants picked from a river near the artist’s village and planted in cement bases, dying as the show progresses. The dreamy painting Thermal Blossoms (2020) makes a backdrop of fiery fluorescent nebulas bursting in an expanse of celestial pastel. These blooms are likely noxious fumes—think of the frightful candy-pink plumes of the explosion that destroyed Beirut—but in our self-delusion we see the landscape as if inhabited by distinct animate and inanimate things. When we feel the heat we can build arks, but there will be no place left to go. Now that we can no longer kiss each other safely, we ought to make sure we don’t kiss the planet goodbye. - Cathryn Drake The artwork is shipped unframed. Authenticity certificate included. It belongs in the series of artworks of my solo show 'It's getting hot in here', 2020, a show about the climatic crisis.