5×7
pencil, colored pencil and archival ink colored pens
Binary tension is metronymic of the arc of Clark’s work. These drawings exemplify this with their juxtaposition of the abject with the transcendental. They were begun during the worst period of the artist’s struggle with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Environmental Illness when she was bed bound, in a wasted state, and at several junctures near death. At the beginning of this series she was so weak that even holding a pencil and small amounts of drawing taxed her. She drew tiny amounts each day and imbued these talismans with the potency of her realizations at the time, inspired by her daily disciplined spiritual practices, as well as the extreme physical suffering and duress of this period.
