Isolation

Description

Artist Notes

This piece reflects the isolation and suffering experienced during a month and a half in the hospital for a bone marrow transplant, capturing the psychological and physical challenges of that time.

Preservation Notes

PROVISIONAL. All observations below are from visual inspection of a digital image. No physical examination has been carried out. RECORD STATUS This record exists only as a draft and has not been published. It is the only work in this collection in that state. MEDIA AND TECHNIQUE Opaque water-based paint throughout, consistent with gouache or acrylic. Colour is matte and flatly laid in, with no visible gloss except localised sheen in the gold passages. Extensive fine linear hatching and stippling in the background, executed with a brush or a fine-point pen; strokes are short, directional, and radiate from the pale aperture at left, indicating a worked-up layered build rather than wash. Black contour drawing defines the figure and the principal forms, sitting on top of colour in most areas, which places it late in the working sequence. Metallic gold-toned pigment on the disc rim and rays and on the small element at the figure's head, showing differential reflectance against the matte surround. Highlights applied as discrete opaque strokes of white and pink, slightly raised relative to the ground. No collage, applied papers, or significant impasto. Paint film thin to moderately bodied, with the support texture reading through in the pale areas. The recorded medium is "mixed media on paper". The observations above are broadly consistent with that, though they suggest predominantly opaque water-based paint rather than the dry media found in Echoes of Hunger and Executed Roses, which carry the same recorded medium. Worth distinguishing, since the two have different storage requirements. SUPPORT Paper or lightweight board with a pronounced irregular tooth, clearly legible through thin passages. Scattered dark and light fibrous flecks are visible in the pale areas, reading as inherent to the sheet rather than as surface accretion, though that should be confirmed under magnification. Sheet edges are not visible in the photograph; thickness, deckle, watermark, and verso cannot be assessed. CONDITION No tears, losses, or abrasions apparent in the photographed field. No foxing or discrete staining identified; no tidelines visible. A few short dark linear marks in the lower left quadrant may be media, drawn marks, or embedded fibre, undetermined from this image. Planar distortion cannot be assessed. Lighting is diffuse and frontal with no raking illumination, so cockling, creasing, or draw from aqueous media would not necessarily register. Minor variations in surface sheen across the background may indicate differential media absorption or uneven binder concentration; not diagnostic from a photograph. SIGNATURE No signature, date, monogram, or inscription visible within the photographed field. Verso and margins not documented. SOURCE FILE 914 x 1281 px, the lowest-resolution capture in this collection. Aspect ratio only. The low resolution materially limits what can be assessed, and a higher-resolution capture should be requested. RECOMMENDED Re-photograph with raking light, visible sheet edges, a verso image, and a scale and colour reference. Current documentation is insufficient for a full condition assessment.