the gingko project
The Gingko Project 2020
The gingko-drawings are, in contrast to Kiki’s usually more abstract work, naturalistic: portraits of time and thoughts during the process of drawing and portraits of a detail of nature:
These works are a meditation about nature, its power and healing forces, a tender act of observation by drawing, made with a silver point pencil: a tool not allowing you to erase or correct anything. Lines on primed paper are quite tender and a dark line takes a lot of lines and repetitions. Silverpoint drawings where a common technique in Renaissance time.
The drawings are portraits of leaves of a Gingko tree; as we know this is the eldest deciduous tree in the world, and on top of that it is used as a medicinal plant. Gingko has been shown to improve memory function, enhance motivation and it is an anti stress remedy.
27 years ago Kiki had planted two Gingko seedlings in the grounds of our studio near Munich, Germany, where we spent the first lockdown in 2020. These trees have now grown to approximately 10 meters height, – a symbol for strength and endurance. Creating this series of drawings seemed to be the right answer to the pandemic – a careful and tender act of observation of nature with a silver point pencil.
Each paper first needs to be specially primed for the silverpoint, otherwise the pencil wouldn’t leave any traces or marks. The drawings are all made with the changes of daylight and each one takes around 4 hours of dedicated work until a deep tone is achieved. With time passing the drawing will change into a darker tone due to the chemical reaction between silver and oxygen.
During this time the mind focuses and becomes very concentrated, it is like a meditation on nature. It is a work about time and about space.
The drawings are framed in object frames of 32 x 32 cm size.
They where presented in a green house for the studio exhibition 2020, Bermuda Studios, Munich.