lee machell drawings & matches

Lee Machell's solo exhibition Drawings & Matches previewed on Friday last week at Untitled Gallery.

The exhibition consists of five match drawings (such as Coin below), four pencil drawings, and one sculptural object.

The match drawings are made by lighting arrangements of matches on or around objects and recording the scorched traces on sheets of paper. They record the objects by the absence of information.

The pencil drawings are objects arranged apparently for their visual properties rather than any particular significance and devoid of background. One of the drawings shows the sculptural object - a paper bag balancing on a thin stick. Another shows matches arranged on an object and ready to be lit.

The juxtaposition of match drawings and pencil drawings suddenly makes you conscious of the artificiality of drawing. Because the matches draw the objects in absence you lack the usual information of line and shade to interpret the image. And when you go back to the pencil drawings you are aware of the number of decisions made.

Decisions have to be made about what will be drawn, what will be left out. What is left out is important. A drawing is not a record of what's there, it's a record of the decisions made about what information is necessary for the artist to achieve what they want.

Drawing is no longer an attempt to represent the world, or something that's been superseded by photography. It is something else. A process and a record of that process.

The match drawings - unpredictable as they are are closer to being a representation of the object. They also have greater nuance and detail. Most of the image is black, scorched. But there are oranges, greys, blues, smoky and watery marks that drift and fade to nothing as well as sharp edges.

The exhibition is open until 20 February and is well worth a visit Don't think that because the space is relatively small that you don't need to spend time with the work. It will reward attention.

Untitled Gallery is open Wednesday 12-7pm, Thursday-Saturday 12-6pm and Sunday 12-5pm at the Friends Meeting House, 6 Mount Street (Bootle Street entrance), Manchester, M2 5NS.