Drawings made at the end of a series of dives collecting data on biodiversity, counting indicator species in the Bay of Roses, Spain.
On the back of my slate I began to experiment with, what I thought, was a better way to record what was there. I drew. It was more interesting to me than counting. I went to contribute to a citizen science project, but my reason for joining was to see and to stare, under water.
Restrictions of scale of the slate and the inability to hold still while drawing were interesting observations. Lines crash into each other and draw over the top of each other as I’m caught up in attempts to capture it all. My lines need to be stronger and more direct, I do not have much time. It may not have been a ‘better’ way to record the scene in front of me, the University of Barcelona would not find it as useful as the series of ‘I’s I had drawn on the other side for monitoring what’s living and growing on the sea bed, but it made me look differently. I looked at things in relation to each other, I picked out the shapes that interested me more, the creatures I had come to recognise and enjoy seeing. I noticed how quickly or slowly they move, under their own propulsion or that of the water around them. There’s no background or composition, I drew in the space I had in the time I had. I’m interested in how this could develop…
