This has been a turbulent year for the nation and world. It feels as though our civilization is teetering on the brink of destruction. As our society was put into lockdown, I turned to my studio in search of a way to express how I was feeling. Nothing seems rational, so delving into the subconscious has been my way of searching. My search led to the creation of these surreal works.

I start my process with automatic drawing. I flow between applying conscious and subconscious marks while making some pictorial decisions along the way. Never having a known destination, the drawings take on drastic changes during their development. Some of them require the addition or removal of paper as they evolve. For example, the largest work in the show “Surreal Times XXIV” which is 85 ½ x 91 ¼" started out as a 24 x 56” sheet of paper. Throughout its development, it constantly changed orientation as shapes came and went. With each added sheet of paper came new opportunities for exploration and transformation. Along with adding whole sheets, I would also tear up paper in semi random shapes. These shaped pieces became new forms in the composition. Some of them remain and others became buried under layers of charcoal and/or other torn fragments. In the end, the drawing’s yearlong process and evolution can be seen through the visible scars left from the process.

Joseph Yetto