Drawing on paper, ready to hang.

Signed on the back.

This artwork comes with an external frame

The term ‘carapace’ denotes a being’s exoskeleton or ‘shell’.

‘Carapace’ explores the deeply internal as mapped on the outward shell that we wear to face the world. The subject’s apprehensions and emotional scars are manifested uniquely and explicit on the surface. The shell no longer masks that which bubbles underneath, but exists as the physical manifestation of this turmoil. .

As indicated by the title, the piece aims to converge that of ‘human’ and ‘animal’. Our subject carries the weight of the shell without reprieve, just as the tortoise who hides, rests and walks beneath his own shell at all times.

‘Carapace’ is created using graphite pencil and uses careful blending, shading and intricate detail. Whilst the piece is created using traditional drawing techniques, the final effect is that of something raw, immediate and highly visceral exposed to the viewer. The simplicity of the graphite pencil helps to convey this sense of immediacy and rawness, emphasising the subject as laid bare in the given moment, without frills or distraction.