Artist in Residence with Extant Theatre Company
I was commissioned to work as an Artist in Residence during the Pathways Masterclass Series run by Extant. I created ink pen drawings of the masterclasses as they happened on Zoom. The project includes a selection of my drawings with descriptions.
Extant Pathways
A horizontal strip of 3 black ink drawings in a line of Matthew, Masterclass tutor. They are displayed comic strip style, evoking the Zoom aesthetic of tiny faces seen all in a row. From left to right: a portrait with a narrow strip of Zoom figures above his head, a portrait in the centre, looking intensely into the screen, and on the right with his wall of records behind. The drawings were made live during the sessions as they happened.
The live drawings of the Masterclass sessions attempt to capture some of the energy and the intensity of communicating through Zoom. They had to be very quick, as often someone would talk for just a few moments, and then the screen would change to someone else. Each session had its own energy and flavour. Sometimes the screen was filled with gesticulating hands or an eruption of laughter. And there were the in-between times, when videos were switched off, rooms empty or people coming back from breaks with tired screen eyes and sunglasses.
Black and red ink on white paper, landscape format. In the middle of the picture, a computer screen on stand, with glaring white light, contrasts with a black background, drawn with scratchy ink. At the bottom of the computer screen is just the top of a woman's head. She wears large dark sunglasses and has dark, thick, short hair. This drawing was made at the very end of the day. Tired screen eyes.
At these times the sessions felt more like a relaxed performance, each accessing the process at their individual pace and using whatever iPads or mobiles suited their vision. Some of the drawings I have put into grids or strips, to evoke the gallery style and aesthetic of Zoom with tiny faces.
A grid of 12 tiny coloured ink drawings of Directors and tutors on Zoom, landscape format. This composite set of drawings is set out in a gallery style to mimic the Zoom screen. There are also two blank tiles, one showing the person icon for someone who has their video turned off.
Some also include the yellow rectangle that shows someone is speaking or the person icon when a video is switched off. As a visually impaired artist myself, I wanted to reflect the variety of how we all engaged with the screen, so there are images that are cropped, close up, indistinct and gestural in the selection.
Thank you to everyone who gave permission for their drawings to be used. More of these drawings can be seen on my Instagram page @sallyboothartist
Some of the pictures from this project also appear on Extant's Twitter feed and social media. The Twitter name and Instagram is @extantltd
I have also been involved with Extant giving access advice on Flightpaths
and as project manager on the intergenerational project Spirit of Resistance, inspired by Maria Oshodi's play Resistance based on the true story of teenage blind French resistance leader Jacques Lusseyran.
