palmate snag, paper, pencil shavings, graphite, chalk pastel, clay, glue, joint compound, pins

Thea Yabut works in a variety of media, creating layered images that often emulate textiles in their construction. Thea’s portfolio features complex, patterned abstract drawings that layer coloured lines like thread, and wall-based mixed media sculptures.

spicule, paper, pencil shavings, graphite, pigment, glue, joint compound, pins, clay

I’m really taken by Thea’s recent wall sculptures. These pieces, made with a multitude of different materials, take on aesthetic that’s not quite synthetic, not quite organic, but exists in a fascinating in-between realm. In some ways, the construction of these pieces with their pale pastel colour schemes and horn-like protrusions reminds me of Scott Hove’s pastry sculptures. There’s something about these pieces that’s simultaneously inviting and unsettling.

www.theayabut.com

In our previous feature of Thea’s works we looked at the artist’s drawings -- these densely layered drawings still factor prominently into Thea’s portfolio, seeming to inform large parts of the rest of her practice. The artist’s technique of using numerous tiny marks and shapes and layering them to create volumes adds an air of mystery to each piece, giving the impression that each drawing contains a code to be cracked.

luminous body