ManhattoLand  (2018-2020)

 

There now is your insular city of the Manhattoes.

Herman Melville, Moby-Dick

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This project is a personal portrait of Manhattan, my hometown. I make my way around the city on foot and via bicycle, subway, bus, and taxi. I spend time looking up and looking down. Many of the drawings reflect this tilt of the head.

 

ManhattoLand is comprised of 515 drawings, 14 prints, and 2 sculptures. Using my iCamera, I shot whatever I found to be of interest, then worked from the photos as reference for the drawings. There was no checklist, and I didn’t follow a system of any kind. The question I asked myself was, ‘Do I want to draw it?’

 

Around January 2020 I began to feel like the project was coming to a close. Then the Covid-19 pandemic hit and we were all at home. With less time out and about, the end point was accelerated, but really, only slightly. Some of the later drawings reflect NYC's reality at that time.

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