Hindu and Buddhist spiritual practices bring together rituals, texts and teachings to guide understanding of the universe and a person’s place within it. They are commonly called “tantra”, Sanskrit for “loom” or “weave”.
To create his body of large-scale drip drawings, Tim Hawkinson constructed an apparatus that functions in much the same way as a tattooist’s needle. Large sheets of paper are mounted on a turntable fixed flat to the wall. Using this contraption, he applies black India ink to the paper and allows it to run in straight lines. He then rotates the paper and repeats the process from different angles to construct complex geometric forms that bulge and bend across the picture plane - despite the absence of any curved lines. His precise interventions in the flow of ink create an optical illusion. His intricate patterns require Hawkinson to fully focus on his technique, weaving the lines together one by one.
Many of these works are uncannily tiki-like - stylized and fetishistic representations of the human body. Others evoke the geometry and optical effects of Islamic tiling or American quilts. Each, constructed through the ritualistic buildup of lines, is a token of Hawkinson’s idiosyncratic practice.