Water Drawings

Jo Lewis draws with the dynamism and flux of water. Working predominantly in rivers, lakes and the sea, her work is about being not a mere observer of, but a participant and collaborator with water. Jo uses ink, its endless nuance and subtlety associated for centuries with artists that work outside in nature. Each place or encounter results in a series of up to twenty works on paper. Jo strives for the water to function as creator, making its mark and then retreating in, allowing water to evoke itself at the same time as dispersing its very existence. The water commands the ink yet also washes it away. The spontaneous marks allude to the underlying rhythms, tensions and strengths of each body of water. The white paper frames these marks in a moment of suspension and in its contrast with ink, performs the tension between fragility and permanence, liquidity and absoluteness; the delicate interplay between dynamism and endurance captured on paper. Drawn for many years to the endless uniqueness and power of water, Jo’s practice continues to examine these fragile moments of interaction and mark making, and the friction between process and still image. Her works hold resolution of irresolution at their core.

Elisabeth Frood, October 2019