The drawings in this series are from photos of marine accidents, and made of thread, knots, and vellum. All were completed in 2019.
At sea, stacks of containers topple from a loaded cargo ship. The containers separate, tear at each other, drop, get wedged in, peel open, sink, float away. The drawings capture a split-second effect of wind, waves, momentum, gravity, and human fallibility.
The statement, human fallibility, would not have appeared in a statement about this work back then, when the poetry of the drawing was first and foremost. For example this description in an article in the paper gives a clear example:
A captain was drunk, or asleep, or changed course. An undeclared container of fireworks exploded. Power failed. Steering was lost. A crack opened in the hull. A fire began in the hold. The hull hogged. The anchor dragged. The ship runs up a reef, breaks up, burns, sinks, gets towed, or awaits salvage. People abandon ship safely, heal from their injuries, or die.
These drawings are made by anchoring lines of thread to vellum with simple knots on the back. The knots are visible through the paper. The thread color was usually determined by the dominant color of the source photograph. The repetitive piercing and knotting are both soothing and disturbing.
Biography
Liz Sweibel is a multidisciplinary artist working in drawing, sculpture, installation, and digital photography and video. Her work uses a minimal, personal language of abstraction to transform and draw attention to the seemingly simple, ordinary events and interactions of life. Through subtle manipulation of materials and space, and references to shared and personal history, Sweibel’s work explores and reflects back fundamental experiences of our world and relationships. Her intention is to reinvigorate our awareness of the everyday so that we might bring a heightened quality of care to our daily living.
Sweibel has participated in solo, two-person, and group exhibits in the Northeast and South, including ODETTA Gallery, NURTUREart, Ground Floor Gallery, R. Jampol Projects, Gallery Korea, and AG Gallery in New York; the Mills Gallery, HallSpace, and Montserrat College Gallery of Art in the Boston area; and the Medicine Factory in Memphis. Her work has also appeared in a number of on-line venues, including The Drawing Center Viewing Program and the literary publication Inertia Magazine.
Sweibel received her BFA from Massachusetts College of Art and her MFA from Maine College of Art. She also holds a BA in English and an MA in Counseling. She lives and works in Brooklyn.