MariMar - a collaboration

Marega Palser and I create artworks together. They look alot different to my 'usual practice' -  but I don't think there is such a thing! The marks and freedom translate back into my paintings, to keep them loose.

Our work together probably began in 2015 when I was 'Invited by the Neighbours' to paint. I'd met Marega long before this in 2011. Marega is from a dance and performance background, having trained at the London Contemporary Dance School. She combines dance with drawing in her own unique way. I first saw her performing at a tiny Jazz club in Newport, wearing a horse head mask. Then later at Chapter in her show with Gareth Clark called 'Sometimes We Look'. It's a joy to work with her on huge drawings in my studio...

The 'Inviting the Neighbours Around to Paint' project inspired us to keep working on the same piece of art. Our process goes a bit like this:

“It begins with a line soft charcoal starts here and ends up over there. It breaks. We put music on: Eno, Toots, Violent Femmes, X-ray Specs, Byrne, Afrobeats and Electro pop! Another line rolls along, meandering over the surface pastels. pencils. They say black, I say white. Time stops, condenses disappears There are pauses We look. There are times when we think its shit. You have to own the shitness before someone else does We have to push through when it doesn’t look right. Stop again. Look. What does it need? Put your whole body into it. Dance dance around it... See it from another angle. What are you saying, drawing? They say blue. I say orange. It could be red and then would you say green? Its a feeling. A puzzle. Adding not subtracting. little marks up close it’s easy to get lost in it and loose yourself in detail Step back move around it What does it need what is this painting saying to us? They say fast as lightning. Heavy handed. I say slow like I’ve got all the time in the world with a light, light touch. A big curving line! Sweeping repetition. Throw some paint down! It’s fun. Freedom just like a child not judging or comparing We don’t know what it’s going to be. The white or brown paper brings it together...the negative space. Busy in areas. Quiet in others. Then suddenly we both know it’s nearly there! Layers look rich. Hold it up. Watch how the paint runs and does its own thing. Don’t intervene with what it wants to do. Then it’s done. We’ve used it all up. Part of it is knowing when to stop.”

Sometimes the drawings are quick. Other times it might take all day to make. Every time we work, there are points when the drawings don't feel ready, so we continue and add layers, or obliterate what's gone on before with paint. Working in this way is liberating and like a conversation. The process allows us to discover new ways to draw, often with unusual tools – found objects, homemade brushes and sticks. It's playful and we bring what we've learnt into our other work. It's about letting go and seeing what happens, not worrying about perfection or end result.

#drawing #deepmapping #body #charcoal #paint #dance #expressiveart