“I remember how I fell in love with drawing; Life drawing had always felt to me like an intense race between my memory and the present, and this is why such classes proved stressful for me when I was in high school. I thought that drawing needed to be a perfect reflection of what was in front of me and as a result, the smallest movement of a model caused me considerable concern and stress. A true relief were still life classes (!). This drawing ‘race’ was based on the cycling processes of observe-remember-forget. I was trying hard to remember what was in front of me and to quickly transfer it onto the paper. After a few marks, I realised I had forgotten what I had just seen and consequently had to refer to the model again. I was sure this was caused by a weakness in my human ability. The more I practiced drawing, however, the more I was able to recall the basic pattern of shapes in the human body.
“As a result, the race became less intense, but never easier due to the differences that can be observed between each human body – and the handle of a cup. It took me time to realise that this was the beauty of the nature of drawing. The process of forgetting became a blessing, thanks to which I will never be able to achieve a perfect reflection, and this leaves understatements that can and need to be filled with my interpretation and imagination. I started winning races, as through drawing I started engaging with the present. I fell in love with drawing and it became a medium through which I could express my thoughts, emotions and experiences. Drawing helped to break down language barriers and enabled me to create works on the subject that many people can relate to.” Zuzanna Salamon.
