Dixie Reindeer Lichen and House Fly

This is Brian Cavanaugh 

“Dixie Reindeer Lichen and House Fly” is one in a dozen drawing series titled “Naked Eye”.

One winter morning, I noticed the house fly that had been buzzing around my studio the last couple of days had died on my table.  After coffee, I arranged this tiny still-life.

During the two weeks it took to complete this stark drawing, I hyper-focused on a seemingly insignificant event. Captured in that moment are both billions of years of little change in either species as well as an infinity of micro-adaptations.

 All the drawings in the series are minute specimens isolated on a blank background drawn absurdly enlarged. In this drawing, the house fly is an indication of scale. The lichen on its’ own would otherwise lack much hint of scale. The relationship between the two causes a visual tension on the plain white background. The intent is an approach/avoidance response, inevitably drawing you into your own interpretations. Now I look at the drawing and think that the house fly lived about as long as it took to draw.