river, tundra, grove, 2020, ink on paper. 29.5 x 19.5 cm (each). Images courtesy of the artist.

Celine Cheung

This series of drawings feature studies of mark-making and the act of mindfulness. Recollecting the muscle memories of carving into a lino block, I laid repetitive brushstrokes on paper. I let this mode of mark-making guide the formation of the imagery, following its organic flow; torrents of swirling lines come together as imagined landscapes emerge. 

During the past months in self-isolation, I have been investigating drawing as a practice of mindfulness. By allowing the currents to run its course, I let go of the desire to control the outcome of the work, just as I try to make peace with elements I cannot control in the world. Moreover, making simple, repetitive marks helped ease my anxiety and ground myself in the present.

Echoing the ideas of romanticism, the drawings explore the capacity of our imagination. Being cut off from nature and the outside world necessitates a turn to look inward, which drove me to examine ways to shape the quality of the inner world I live in. 

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Celine Cheung is an emerging artist with a Bachelor of Fine Arts/Arts from UNSW Art & Design. In 2014, she underwent a Printmaking Studio Intensive at the National Art School, and since, has gone on to work within performance, video, and painting. Currently, she uses imagery of natural phenomena to explore a vision of bleak romanticism in the age of the Anthropocene*. Her work has been previously shown at Gallery Lane Cove, Roller Door Projects, and AIRspace Projects.

* The Anthropocene is the current geological period in which human activity has been the dominant influence on the Earth’s climate, environment, and ecosystems.