Mitch Cope
Born in Detroit, Michigan.
BFA, College for Creative Studies
MFA, Washington State University
Lives in Detroit, Michigan
I grew up next to the Huron River in Milford, Michigan. I swam in it, I jumped from bridges into it, I canoed in it, and I got my feet stuck in it. The river meanders southeast and from there its flow is obscured through several old dams on its way through Ann Arbor. This is where I found a white lily floating still in the restless water. I then found another in Murphy Lake floating next to a small island where my oldest brother has a vacation home. And another near a small dam at Carp Lake, a place where many of my ancestors have lived, died, and vacationed.
These drawings combine three elements: water lily flowers, celestial planets, and circles. They are exercises in searching for clarity out of multiple, layered tragedies. They are an attempt to transform darkness and uncertainty into a defined shape; to find enlightenment and new life from decay. These drawings are made from rolls of paper glued together and using colored pencils drawn out in long, thin lines for as far as i can reach and built up over time. The pencils were constantly needing to be sharpened. The scale of the drawings is in relationship to my body in different scenarios — my height, my arm’s length height, and my height standing on my grandmother’s kitchen chair.
BFA, College for Creative Studies
MFA, Washington State University
Lives in Detroit, Michigan
I grew up next to the Huron River in Milford, Michigan. I swam in it, I jumped from bridges into it, I canoed in it, and I got my feet stuck in it. The river meanders southeast and from there its flow is obscured through several old dams on its way through Ann Arbor. This is where I found a white lily floating still in the restless water. I then found another in Murphy Lake floating next to a small island where my oldest brother has a vacation home. And another near a small dam at Carp Lake, a place where many of my ancestors have lived, died, and vacationed.
These drawings combine three elements: water lily flowers, celestial planets, and circles. They are exercises in searching for clarity out of multiple, layered tragedies. They are an attempt to transform darkness and uncertainty into a defined shape; to find enlightenment and new life from decay. These drawings are made from rolls of paper glued together and using colored pencils drawn out in long, thin lines for as far as i can reach and built up over time. The pencils were constantly needing to be sharpened. The scale of the drawings is in relationship to my body in different scenarios — my height, my arm’s length height, and my height standing on my grandmother’s kitchen chair.
