Monday, February 27, 2012

twins.


I loved the work of Leigh Loves You when I first saw it a few months back on the Mr. X. I remember once someone described my work as simple, meaning it as a compliment... but it always kind of bothered me. But today I feel like I know what they meant. When I was looking for what to feature today I found many artists in my little folder of inspiration that were great but they all had so much complexity to what they were doing either conceptually or technically or both and I wanted to look at and write about work that was simple and direct.


I remembered Leigh's lovely project on being a twin and knew it was the perfect work to feature today. The strength of this work is in its simplicity. Leigh works from what seems like old family photos of twins, I am assuming often of herself and her sister. Her drawing hand is lovely and has an honesty to it that draws me in.


The lines seem like they are not overly considered but freely made with out too much "over" thinking. There lies the strength for me, the direct honesty of her style. No using overly conceptual ideas, or fancy techniques just simple lines, simple stitches, and an excellent awareness towards negative space.


I especially love how she shows the front and backs of many works. Emulating the experience of being twinned. Simultaneously the same yet utterly different.


I also like her collage techniques, the combination of pencil and paint and texture with stitches.


Leigh is a young artist just embarking on her career and her thoughtful vulnerability shows me that she has a lot to give. You can see a number of other projects including the side show project, image above, and her new project on her niece who suffers from a rare disease.

I cannot wait to watch what she does with her stitches next.

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