Drawings from Hungate Dig

Drawing: process in layers of time:


The drawings are a response to the activity in the entrance hall, which I have been allocated for displaying my work. This is a changing, working environment where trays of finds are stacked to dry and safety clothing is available for use by those going on site. The objects in the drawings belong to different ‘layers of time’, from the Roman era to the present, the time span of the site itself. My drawing highlights the significance that these humble objects hold within a particular context. The act itself references the drawing process of mapping.





Object Map 1: Past,
Pencil, soil, tape on layered paper, mounted on board.
100 cm x 81 cm.
Catherine Scriven, 2007 - 08.

This drawing is based on a piece of a Roman mortarium, a large bowl with embedded grit to grind and mix foods. It is related to our present pestle and mortar. It would have been used in the daily routine of food preparation.
This object was found by Will and I, in the infill of a drain cut.



Here is a detail of the drawing, layers and mounting:









Object Map 2: Past and Present,
Pencil, soil, tape on layered paper, mounted on board.
100 cm x 81 cm.
Catherine Scriven, 2007 - 08.

This drawing is based shoes: the archaeologist’s steel toe capped boots worn for safety and an early 20th century female leather shoe probably worn for a smart occasion found in context 39000.
Shoes: humble everyday objects
Shoes: metaphors for activities, circumstances and
personality.



Here is a detail of the drawing of the laces:









Object Map 3: Present,
Pencil, soil, tape on layered paper, mounted on board.
100 cm x 81 cm.
Catherine Scriven, 2007 - 08.

Uniform gear for protection.
Unifying but protecting the individual.
Emphasis on the individual.
The individual as part of team.
Emphasis on the team.
Any of us, all of us.
Absent but present.



For photos of the drawings withing the dig context go to the installation view. Click on link: http://catherine-scriven.blogspot.com/2008/01/installation-at-hungate-dig.html

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