Coal & Ash Drawings
Bird Study — Coal Drawing
A body becoming air
EN: A study of bird forms using coal dust, revisiting literati painting traditions through a contemporary material.
EN:
This drawing takes inspiration from birds depicted in classical Chinese literati paintings — not merely as naturalistic representations but as carriers of spirit and metaphor. Executed with coal dust, the work connects the gesture of the brush with the raw, smudged unpredictability of coal as a medium.
The bird stands still, almost dissolving into the paper, yet it embodies an inner motion — the tension between stillness and the urge to take flight. For me, birds are deeply personal symbols: they speak of my desire for freedom, for transcendence, for stepping outside prescriptive roles.
This piece is part of my ongoing “Coal as Memory” body of work, which reclaims coal as more than an industrial residue, using it to trace personal memory, cultural heritage, and emotional impulses.
CN:
