graphite, putty eraser, wax crayon & watercolour/30x20cm
With the emphasis again on elements of horizontal & vertical structure within which to situate the represented 'roadkill' object, the incorporation of a suggestion, an approximation, of the bars & spatial 'voids' of the grating of a drainage grid (as have been photographed in proximity to examples of the familiar double black lines with attendant 'roadkill' as found) into the composition creates a substantial complement to the habitual use of short horizontal brushstrokes of translucent watercolour layered across the picture plane & constructing the surface/'ground' & strengthens the general framework.
Such a formal device allows also - with reference to the rust-patinated nature of the cast-iron of which such objects are manufactured - the addition of colouristic detail that might recall another vague affinity with Cubist painting (& more specfically, as ever, that of Braque & Picasso), with its use of earthy hues (although perhaps more typically ochres rather than sienna) along with & thus complementing the silver-greys of the archetypical reduced palette, & collage too, with its use of pasted papers that, in certain cases, have aged to a certain 'smoked' appearance.
The touches of colour, whilst relating closely to particular 'local' forms, are granted a certain licence to float freely (in a 'significant' manner, one might claim!) over each other & thus exist in & for themselves, to retain an individual integrity, which the deliberate facture of the surface is intended to emphasize.
The item of 'roadkill', presenting simultaneous views of the top, base & fragments of the sides of the object as it does, both in itself & as represented, thus displays its familiar credentials as an example of 'Readymade Cubism', a designation-for-consideration oft proposed here at TOoT).
Soundtrack:
Mark Mulcahy 'In Pursuit of Your Happiness'
Lambchop 'Is a Woman'
Test Match Special England v Pakistan 2nd Test, day 1
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