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LEFT HAND OF DARKNESS

Shadow Structures

Professor- Mark Cottle

Term- Fall 2020

Media Used-  Gouache, Charcoal, Graphite

The shadow is not merely a physical phenomenon, essential to vision. It is part of a basic set of metaphors that structure our values and organize our understanding of the world.

In this course, we asked the shadow to help us question a number of binary structures, dualities that seem "natural", self-evident, but, in fact, are cultural constructions that operate in service to systems of power. These include Light-Dark, Mind-Body, Idea-Thing, High-Low, Self-Other, Us-Them, Male-Female, Center-Periphery, Civilized-Barbarian, Enslaver-Enslaved. In this theory course, we were asked to read, some ancient texts, and some items just freshly posted, which formed the basis of class discussions. Instead of writing about them, however, we were asked to draw. 

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