WIRD: profile 03 Drawing

This WIRD series of profile drawings was preceded by a fascination for the profile portraits by Botticelli and other renaissance artists. I then noticed that many photographic portrayals of the first people of this land (USA) had been posed in profile which was a popular style of that time when photography was becoming more widespread. I then became aware that the photography, and the style of photography had conformed and contributed to the reification process of the first people of this land. The title WIRD used for the studies in this series is an acronym for Western Indigenous Reified Descendant. “WIRD” is simultaneously an homophone for “word”. The word “word” is of course, a means by which ideas, thoughts, concepts, attitudes etc. are shared or communicated. The intent is to help transform the perception of the spoken and written language as a principal conduit for the colonization or reification of western indigenous people, to a conduit for mutual understanding between the various separate cultures and philosophies of this land. This WIRD series is an ongoing process, transforming the historic documentary photo images into a personal transformational document and homage to our first nations’ people. Various means were used to render the drawings in the profile series. Sometimes rubber stamps are used for shading or erasing, something akin to the petroglyph works by ancient cultures. The stamped or stenciled images are sometimes added to have a narrative role in the drawing. The drawings are done at a scale slightly larger than life. 20% of the sale of this work will be donated to the "Seventh Generation Fund for Indigenous Peoples, Inc. : Thriving Women" or to an appropriate fund of your choosing.