This series of drawings is based on observation of the weeds and “volunteer” plants coming up through the cracks of Red Hook, Brooklyn, the urban birds–pigeons, sparrows, and starlings, and other aspects of the local visual environment—pennants at a ball field, empty signs, a satellite dish. There are also maps of present and historical Red Hook, and Shenzhen and Guangzhu, two of the largest cities in China, our biggest trading partner–because Red Hook is also a port. The drawings pay homage to the ancient wall paintings of Pompeii and Rome, created at a time when deforestation was rampant, and idealized views of nature came indoors, complete with painted windows and doors, creating vistas into an idealized exterior. Made with walnut and sumi ink , and using a process in which the walnut ink is removed with water to create a kind of ghost image, their architectural size brings the outdoors to the indoors inside the gallery.
All photos are by Etienne Frossard.
