AUGUST Online: Mimi Robson: Smple studies made with humble tools

Early last year (2020), I spent some time in Tokyo and Kyoto, Japan, studying Zazen and traditional zen paintings. Although the trip was bought to an abrupt end due to the pandemic, the time there was intensely rich and inspiring, and the principles of meditation and Shodo which I practised returned with me, and have imbued this collection of work. 

 

On returning home to Bude on the north coast of Cornwall, the state of confinement and confusion became an atmosphere for me to explore and implement new approaches to my work. Like all limitation, it led to growth and discovery. Without access to the printmaking studio, I was restricted to the paper, ink and brushes I had been travelling Japan with, and an hour of hiking the coastal path between Morwenstow and Bude became my liberation as well as inspiration. 

 

As with the traditional Japanese calligraphy I studied, each of these drawings were approached with an acute focus and the concentrated gestures became a meditation They focus on the quality of the brushed line, and the line reflects the state of my mind. Each inconsistency is a moment of distraction, every mark a reflection of my mood - agitated, peaceful, longing, content.

 

For me this collection is of simple studies, with humble tools, exploring the great complexity of the earths forces and human nature.