'Warmups' - Library Artwork - 2023
We are delighted to share ‘Warmups’ by artist Rayne Booth this summer. This is part of the “Library Interventions” project. This project brings visual art and the ideas behind it to the Lexicon Library, with a list of books that aim to expand our thinking about the artwork.
About the Artwork
Rayne shared these thoughts about her work with us:
“In 2018 I decided to focus completely on improving my drawing skills and did a Masters course in drawing to achieve this. As a warmup, every day before completing my course work I drew a self-portrait in ink on A4 paper. In what felt like a short time, I had gathered a collection of more than 300 self-portraits. These drawings represent the passing of time for me.
The four drawings shown here are just a small glimpse from a much wider project that gradually unfolded over two years, one step at a time. Each drawing began with black ink, without any planning or underlying sketches. Mistakes and distortions became part of the creative process. This work is a diary, a daily meditation, and a way of conceptualising the passing of time.
In the challenging year of 2020, amid the turmoil of lockdown, my daily ritual of self-portraiture became a means of coping with the uncertainties and isolation of that time. This series not only traces the evolution of my drawing skills, but also serves as a visual record tracking my own personal physical and mental transformations over a span of more than two years.”
Book List
As part of this project, the artist has made a recommended reading list to accompany this work. These books are available for borrowing at the library:
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The Hard Tomorrow by Eleanor Davis
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Ethel and Ernest by Raymond Briggs
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Maus by Art Spiegelman
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Blathasar & Blimunda by José Saramago
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Daybook by Anne Truitt
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Full Tilt by Dervla Murphy
About the Artist
Rayne Booth is an artist, writer and curator based between Ireland and Portugal. She studied painting at the National College of Art and Design, graduating in 2004. After a long period of time working as a curator, she returned to her artistic practice, completing an MA in drawing at the university of Lisbon in 2021. Since 2018, she has been focussing on the medium of drawing to make sequential art works based on life experience. Since 2019, she has created and self-published three graphic novels, ‘Dead Dogs’, ‘Eileen’ and ‘Love’. In 2023 her work ‘Lillian’ was featured in a new Irish comic art anthology entitled ‘Home’, supported by the Arts Council. She is currently working on a fourth graphic novel centred on the story of the Palace of Mafra in Portugal.
Gallery
