Artist Creates Enigmatic Maps and Diagrams for Individual Interpretation
Repetition holds a unique beauty. Witnessing the same design replicated time after time resembles a harmonious composition of shapes. While it is gratifying to see identical replicas, it becomes even more intriguing when they are crafted by human hands. Despite our best efforts, a hand-drawn pattern will never achieve absolute perfection—and that’s what makes it appealing. Artist Shane Drinkwater produces paper artworks rich in repetitions. He employs dots, plus signs, arrows, and straight lines to create organized compositions that resemble maps and diagrams of realms we do not yet completely comprehend.
For Drinkwater, a native of Tasmania, there is joy in the application of color, shape, and gesture upon the canvas of paper. “I’m fascinated by the process of creation!” he states. “I engage in the act of painting using a minimal set of visual elements aimed at achieving a maximum visual impact. Concepts and images emerge through the creation of the artwork, language becomes redundant, I allow the work to convey my message.”
What message does the artwork convey? It appears to be primarily up to the observer to interpret its significance. Drinkwater aims for his creations to “be perceived as enigmatic coded systems.” Some pieces resemble topographical maps, depicting landscapes of unfamiliar territories. Others seem to explore remote galaxies and diagrams of meteoric events or shooting stars. In this context, it is the perspective we bring to the work that is essential. How we connect with the forms and symbols directly influences our understanding of what we observe.
No matter their nature or destination, each piece is crafted in Drinkwater’s distinct visual vocabulary: a constrained color scheme of blue, red, black, white, and yellow on paper, characterized by deliberate mark-making that is abundant without being visually overwhelming. In this manner, they all belong to the same realm, guiding us along the journey of Drinkwater’s creative thought process.
To explore more from the artist, you can follow Shane Drinkwater on Instagram.