Sophie Tilling
Woolooware High School
IN HIS SHOES
Drawing
Charcoal
My body of work represents a genetic comparison of my father and grandfather. The work’s overbearing scale consumes audiences, allowing them to ‘step into the shoes’ of two remarkable men and develop a personal connection with them. My grandfather was a shoemaker.
Marker's Commentary
In his Shoes explores the integrated connection and influence of family through fragmented and carefully layered and composited drawings of the artist’s father and grandfather. The title of the work enriches our understanding of the concepts underpinning the work, referring to both the occupation and life of the elder man and the influence past generations have on the pathways of our own life lives?. The graphite is expertly applied to capture the likeness between father, son or younger self in a realistic manner. The stacking of cropped sections of the portraits in the compositional organisation is deliberate and enriches concepts within the work, further enhanced by the controlled tonal key. These different facets are the foundation and intersection of family and a significant influence on the gaze of both men.
