Supine

Shane explained that the track ‘Supine’ (from the Powdered Earth's Lockdown Project) refers to our absolute vulnerability. And I think it's my favourite of the four tracks. It certainly resonates with me around feelings of fragility and powerlessness. Feelings that I've felt during lockdown and indeed all the times that I've come up against a seemingly insurmountable trial in my life.

I made two images for this track. I made the first one and shared it with Shane and George. I knew it didn't accurately illustrate the supine position but it was an image that I needed to make. The Supine track had taken me down a self reflective path and this was my response to it.

The figure can embody despair but it's also a protective pose and reminds me of a yoga pose called 'child's pose' which actually feels very cocooning and protected. However, I knew it wasn't strictly speaking the right image for Supine so I created the second image.

This is a loose figure study that fully illustrates the supine pose. It's created (as the others in the series were) as a digital collage using gel prints that I've previously made. The gold of the figure is the same gold that I've used in all the other images.

I often look for hope in my work, but not false hope or toxic positivity. Hope only rings true for me if I've allowed myself to sink into sorrow and despair. It feels right to just embody this 'supine' position sometimes. Lying supine is also a yoga pose known as 'corpse pose'. Often done at the end of a session, embodying complete relaxation and surrender. So, I think you can see this as either a very vulnerable pose or a really relaxed one!