Projects > Keeping Track of Time, 2021-22

Project Description:

For much of his life, Philip Brou has maintained practices as both an artist and amateur runner. He runs at least every other day and views it as both exercise and a meditative practice.

During the tumultuous year of 2021, he brought his studio and running together; making a drawing documenting each of his runs. There are a total of 197 drawings. The drawings are modestly scaled, roughly the size of the artist’s footprint. They are installed in a grid in order to reference the rhythmic elements of running such as heartbeats and breaths. They are executed in ink wash, in an amount of time approximately equal to the duration of each corresponding run. The date, which also serves as the title, is written in the lower right corner of each piece.

The drawings record locations momentarily encountered while on the move. These locations are often parking lots, views of the road, and other places that are more utilitarian than picturesque. These humble and typically overlookable locations allow for a greater consideration of the processes at work and bring attention to temporal subject matter such as weather, time of day, and seasonal change.

While running, attention is placed on qualities of drawing such as light and composition. Conversely, while drawing, the focus is on running and rendering visible qualities such as cadence and stamina. This reciprocity blends the physical, metaphorical and meditative processes of each practice. Over the course of the project, the metronomic rhythm of running one day and drawing the next can be seen as stitching together a time that felt otherwise fractured. The artist views the project as a type of clock that processes days by both running and slowing down; creating a very specific way of keeping track of time.