Charcoal

Created for A Journey Within – Defining Moments, the installation Charcoal embodies the intricate web of connections that shape existence. It reflects on cause and effect, the unseen forces at play, and the ways in which meaning emerges over time.

Central to the installation is a drawing made from charcoal collected from our wood stove—fragments of past fires, gathered over years without a defined purpose, yet carrying an innate significance. The act of collecting these remnants was not one of necessity, but of an unspoken recognition of their significance. Each piece holds the memory of combustion, recalling the notion that no two fires burn the same. Over the course of the ten-month participatory project, this quiet accumulation took on new meaning. It came to mirror the unpredictable nature of human experience—how moments, actions, and materials intertwine in ways we cannot always foresee.

Echoing Leonard Cohen’s reflection, “Poetry is just the evidence of life. If your life is burning well, poetry is just the ash,” Charcoal offers itself as both evidence and metaphor. The transformation from firewood to drawing, from raw material to art, reveals the interwoven nature of existence. Nothing stands alone; every mark left behind records connection—visible or unseen, tangible or ephemeral.

Size: 70" W x 81" H x 24"D

Materials: charcoal drawing on paper, charcoal, cedar and hardware