Artist 317
Odette Graskie
Connection through line
Drawing
Odette Graskie (born 1993) is a South African artist who’s work explores the imaginative, interaction and line. Her motifs revolve around human interaction and connection. To her, drawing is a way of really seeing those around her, and she creates intimate moments while drawing.
“My process comprises obsessive, labour-intensive drawing, cutting and putting pieces back together again. Drawing is a way of seeing, a way to connect with the world around me on a deeper level.” - Odette Griskie
She is influenced by the people around her engaging the everyday interactions that highlight humanity. She works with storytelling in a variety of mediums, including textile art, ceramics and works on paper.
“In my work, stories are implied. Many hidden messages get lost along the way. In artist books, those might be literal words hidden in cracks and crevices, secret pockets and folded pages, forever lost to anyone who does not pay attention. Some artworks could contain poetry, others might be inspired by a book about plant biology, astronomy, secret libraries or space-time adventures. Faces are of those that have crossed my path, moments of intimate snippets taken, from people who might not have noticed me at all.”
By the use of poetry and literature as a golden thread of influence, she reworks stories and emotions into spaces that can highlight a certain human process or journey.
The work often incorporates multisensory aspects, usually tactility, to bring viewers closer to the art. Her viewers can become immersed, sometimes play, and they can be led by their emotions..
“My artistic practice revolves around mystery, connection and moments of intimacy. It includes media such as drawing and an exploration of paper. By making my own, or discovering other handmade paper sheets, there is an embrace of the materiality of the page. My experiments with paper are attempts at maintaining the essence of the pages - the different textures along with the weightless fragility - while pushing the ways in which paper can be developed, entwined with my own hand and expression. Paper is a mode of connection, a way to tell stories through lifespans. In my artworks every face belongs to another, they are always connecting. I believe that human connection is healing and important when overcoming trauma. - Odette Graskie
When we think of drawing it can be quite a flat experience I love how Odette explores the concept of line and makes very 3 dimensional interactive experiences and evokes what we take for granted in drawing.
It’s a fundamental that line connects us.
Sources Consulted
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