Drawing as an Act of Research rooted in Inquiry and Care

Abstract

Building upon reflections from On Drawings and Drawers: An Exploration, this essay examines the practice of drawing as rooted in inquiry about nature, and as a form of care towards the drawer and the subject. By considering my own drawing practice, I examine how drawings made during the pandemic served as an act of preservation, documentation, and activism. They reveal how drawing fosters a deeper connection with the subjects (including nature and the environment), resulting in the choice of subject as a form of care, with the aim of its preservation. Arguably, it is also a form of activism, elevating the subject matter out of care, which is how I see my pandemic illustration project: Paw Prints 4 - Living in the City. The self-published book was created as a part of a series of artistic responses to the grave environmental and health crises emerging from ecological degradation in cities. With the goal of embodying and spreading the notion of care as fundamental to population wellbeing, it also shared assorted forms of care and conducting research in one’s urban environment.