Snippets from LICA200 essay:

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From a process perspective, the activity of embodiment is a central feature to Matthews’ drawings. Our senses enable an interaction with the world through sound, vision, touch, smell and taste. According to Heidegger, ‘being’ is bound up with place (Maplas, 2008). In an attempt for a more immersive experience, Matthews draws whilst in the ocean which has a direct affect on his sensory perceptions and his body and mind, which purposefully influences the mark-making process. Heidegger (1962) puts froward the notion of ourselves as humans being vital details within the world and due to our sensory abilities, we are able to interact with and affect the world in both time and space. Building on this, in her essay on phenomenology and drawing, Alex Ashton (no date: 2) states,  

 

“the body is … in the world at the same time as being of the world, simultaneously remaining detached from the world, through the consideration of our experience, and being immersed within the reality of that world.” 

 

These drawings epitomise this observation by dissolving the boundary between the body and landscape; the marks on the paper manifest a coalescence of the being and the environment.

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For Husserl, the attempt at a removal of pre-existing knowledge allows for a “groping entrance into this unknown realm of subjective phenomena”. With the steps taken to achieve the epoché, it allows for a fresh encounter and new relationship to the artwork. When applying this mode of thinking and experiencing to these drawings, it is important to mentally engage with a non-judgemental attitude to properly think phenomenologically. The quickly executed pen strokes and lightly bleeding ink may evoke a sense of fluidity and the use of text such as ‘alone’ and ‘horizon’ possibly suggests a sense of peaceful remoteness. In conjuring up these thoughts, the viewer should allow the artwork to grip and dictate them, rather than dictating the artwork. To truly continue with this experience of saturated phenomena, you must allow connotations to unfold from the depths of your consciousness naturally and without interruption. Where these thoughts may lead to is a vast array of possibilities, so this is where the written account of the epoché ends in a natural manner, because to wholly understand this subjective step, it is better to experience the epoché than to read or write about it.

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