Lisa Munnelly

Dirty Edges Dyptich (2023)
Charcoal on Paper
2 Framed Panels (each) measuring 80 cm x 121.5 cm

In drawing ‘Dirty Edges’, the paper operated as both the substrate and the drawing tool, with the drawn line tracing the perimeter of a sheet paper as it is repeatedly folded and unfolded; the drawing accumulated and grew increasingly complex over time.
‘Dirty Edges’ presented a physical and intellectual challenge, the former due to sheer scale, with the large format designed to stretch and test my reach. The latter due to the mirroring movement; The composition of ‘Dirty Edges’ is hinged upon a central axis, upon either side of which I attempt to fold and trace an exact mirror image. To accurately mirror increasingly complex forms presents a mental challenge that I fall short of -despite my best attempts. With its slippages and shortcomings, the completed drawing showcases and celebrates the body’s fallibility rather than meeting any ideal of metric perfection.
With line continually tracing the outer edge, the central motif of the drawing is that of the frame. ‘Dirty Edges’ explores the function of the frame, which in one sense acts as a dividing line to separate and delineate a work from its background, but in another sense, the frame acts as an interface where things encounter/come into contact and rub off against each other.