Watercolor, graphite, mixed media

Graphite and watercolor drawing on mylar of a figure dressed in a quill jacket made by the Cameroon grass fields people in Africa by Florida artist Lisa Qualls. Titled “Porcupine Quill Jacket,” the work was created as part of a series titled “Strawmen and Sugarbones” made for the "RAW" exhibition at O'Kane Gallery in 2009. In her artist statement for this series Qualls states: “I have isolated pieces of costumes and placed them on a person who is naked in order to emphasize the relationship between the object and person, the materials and skin, the symbol and the living being. The garments and ritual objects relate to the body in specific ways and are used to explore gender roles, societal and cultural ideas, aesthetics and spirituality. The voyeuristic element of the audience to the subjects in the drawings further emphasizes the vulnerability of the figures and their introspective and intimate poses. The figures, part soft and vulnerable, part concealed and protected, live in these ambiguous spaces as they would in a vision.”

Lisa received her BFA and BA from the University of Texas at Austin. She continued her studies in Fine Art and Design at Parsons and FIT in New York, NY and CISIM in Ravenna, Italy. Her work is currently represented by Ann Connelly Fine Art in Baton Rouge, LA. She resides in Tallahassee, FL with her husband and their two dachshunds. Artist Statement: My work investigates identity and culture and the way cultures intersect and interact. I am especially interested in what I call visual markers. Visual markers refer to the variety of ways that a group of people identify and distinguish themselves. Within a social group, these markers are used to aid in social functions, boundaries, education and ritual. To those outside the group these markers can be quite alien and evoke fear, wonder or curiosity. I am interested in how visual markers can move from an originating group to another, retain the power of the visceral response, and yet transform in meaning and interpretation. I explore these ideas in both macro and microcosms. Listening to family stories and documenting them has inspired me to research these ideas on a much more intimate level. Whether my focus is on peoples and history in the southern United States or the migration of Africans to Europe the reoccurring theme is the evolution of culture and society. My ongoing series of Southern Portraits which started with 18 x 14" graphite drawings on claybord is now including medium and life-size portraits in oil on canvas. I am honored that the first 22 graphite drawings from this series are now in the permanent collection at the Masur Museum in Monore, LA where the idea for the series began.

My work investigates identity and culture and the way cultures intersect and interact. I am especially interested in what I call visual markers. Visual markers refer to the variety of ways that a group of people identify and distinguish themselves. Within a social group, these markers are used to aid in social functions, boundaries, education and ritual. To those outside the group these markers can be quite alien and evoke fear, wonder or curiosity. I am interested in how visual markers can move from an originating group to another, retain the power of the visceral response, and yet transform in meaning and interpretation. I explore these ideas in both macro and microcosms. Listening to family stories and documenting them has inspired me to research these ideas on a much more intimate level. Whether my focus is on peoples and history in the southern United States or the migration of Africans to Europe the reoccurring theme is the evolution of culture and society. My ongoing series of Southern Portraits which started with 18 x 14" graphite drawings on claybord is now including medium and life-size portraits in oil on canvas. I am honored that the first 22 graphite drawings from this series are now in the permanent collection at the Masur Museum in Monore, LA where the idea for the series began.

H 37.75 in. x W 25.63 in. x D 2.00 in.

H 36 in. x W 24 in.