One of the first works that I created while researching for my project On Drawing was the durational performance series Drawing I, II and III. I was not trying to create a new performance, but it just happened that I got the idea, while undertaking the research. I guess that is one of the virtues of conducting artistic research is that, at some point, it rewires your brain.
Thus, one of the subjects that I researched about was the lateralisation of thinking – this means that, according to neuroscience, our brain is divided in the right and left hemispheres. The right hemisphere is associated with emotions, creativity, intuition and similar. The left hemisphere is reportedly responsible for logics, language and science. This distinction between the right and left side of the brain has been contested by different scientists, thinkers and researchers, because it is considered obsolete nowadays. Similar to the differences between multidisciplinary, cross-disciplinary and interdisciplinary art, it is understood that, nowadays, all knowledge involves a combination between different skills, and therefore it is not possible to isolate different sources. Yet, there are also reports that mention that there are a higher rate of creative people who are left-handed for the reason that their brains are more wired – i. e., their brains have more connections between the right and left hemispheres. Another curiosity is that, over the centuries, many artists tried to rewire their brains by using the left hand instead of the right one. In this manner, they would be less skilled, and their works would be rawer.
Thus, out of this reflection/research, once I woke up to the idea of creating a performance, in which I would draw, first with the right arm, and afterwards with the left one one circle, using one graphite pencil, until it finishes. So, in the end of the performance, I would have two circles, created with each arm, using two complete graphite pencils. Funny enough, everyone thinks that the circle drawn with the right arm was actually created with the left one. The reason for this is because my left arm is stiffer, as I use it less, therefore, that circle is more round and perfect, whereas the circle created with the right arm is more bouncy because I move the arm around, while doing the performance.
Drawing I was performed at Akademie Schloss Solitude, and used two pastel pencils. Drawing II was made in Berlin, at Gallerie Lage Egal – a very hard job, which took me five or six hours, as I used an hard pencil. Drawing III was at Agency Gallery, London, February, 2018. The video can be watched online: https://vimeo.com/292623246
