Causality
June 2006, 120x80cm, Biro on canvas
Human beings tend to think in a symbolic way - of objects and relationships. This leads us to
attempt to understand the way the world works in terms of cause and effect - that things happen for a reason.
This picture is about causality, in particular, about world events. A simple situation may be
easy to understand in terms of cause and effect, but when it comes to world events,
there are so many factors involved that we can only try to analyse the patterns and trends resulting
from the chaotic nature of the world. This picture is an attempt to reflect this situation.
The picture is a single line drawn in biro.
Since the line is so long and goes over itself, we cannot see the path of the line, only the
patterns resulting from it. In this way, we cannot see the exact nature of what happens in the world,
only the 'ripples on the surface', and it is in our nature to try and interpret these ripples as if
they were the only thing there.
By using biro, I was able to continue to draw without a pause, letting the picture progress intuitively.
Also, the use of a very simple, mundane and mass-produced object seemed appropriate to depict world events.
Private collection