Jill Boualaxai

In life drawing there is often an anxiety about putting pencil to paper and finding the correct outline. . There is an assumption that the figure possesses a single, fixed edge and that, if we could locate it precisely, the drawing would fall into place. The reality is that a body has no stable edge. It is a continuous topology. What we call an outline is a temporary agreement between light, weight, overlap and viewpoint. Shift slightly and it changes. A thigh merges into a torso. An arm...

The idea of what drawing is has shifted over time. It no longer just means pencil on paper or drawing from observation. Drawing can be mark-making, movement, repetition, memory, collaboration, or a way of thinking something through. It can happen on a page, but it can also happen through objects, materials, sound, light, or actions in space.

Sketchbooks often carry a surprising amount of pressure. They are expected to hold ideas, demonstrate productivity, or act as proof that "work" is happening. Over time, that weight can make them feel strangely performative as something to be kept tidy, coherent, or quietly impressive. Haymarket Road Works 2012 In practice, I am more interested in sketchbooks as places where work is allowed to behave badly. They are not spaces where ideas are neatly planned before being executed elsewhere....