Rhythm on a Chopping Board

wood, acrylic painting, persimmon astringent, mixed media

I was organising my camera files at the dining table in my parents' house. Just then, my mother took a large chunk of pork out of the fridge and began cutting it up. It was a large piece of meat that we rarely see at home, so I thought I might be able to capture some interesting movements and started filming with the camera I had to hand.

This work was created, drawing inspiration from the movements of the hand holding the knife and the way the meat shifted on the chopping board whilst it was being cut, as captured in the footage I took at that time. The motion of cutting thick slices may appear to be a simple task, but it actually requires considerable strength, and the movement of the meat on the chopping board involved far more motion than I had imagined.

I have attempted to express the seemingly light-footed movements and the accompanying strength through colour and trajectory.