Artist Statement: The Smallpox Lab Leak
A closer look at the drawings.
I got to thinking that some Fashionably Late Takes subscribers might be curious about the decisions I make for the pencil drawings in each essay. So in this “Artist Statement” series, I share what influenced the artwork.
Accidents happen.
That was an overt theme in my very first visual essay for Fashionably Late Takes about “lab leaks,” a broad phrase that encompasses any event that might release a pathogen from a laboratory. And as you can see in the picture above, my drawing about one such accident was also struck by misfortune. It only takes one careless moment. I forgot to put my drawing away when I went to the bathroom, giving my toddler a brief opening to scribble all over it. But unlike the smallpox victim that I was depicting, my drawing survived.
When Curiosity Kills The Cat
The mad scientist’s stench, a rich formaldehyde perfume carrying hints of latex gloves and undercurrents of ammonia, cannot be showered off “the lab leak theory.”
I can still hardly believe it was salvageable. Yet there is no longer a trace of the substantial damage my daughter inflicted on this drawing; I even managed to buff out the deep grooves her wild scrawling engraved in the paper. This restoration is a point of pride for me as an artist, so along with explaining the ideas behind this work, I also want to explain how you, too, can repair a scarred drawing.
“When Curiosity Kills The Cat” is special because it best demonstrates what I mean by a “visual essay” — after all, most essays include some kind of banner image and often other relevant pictures, so what’s the difference? Achieving the full potential of a visual essay is particularly time consuming, and I’ve been slowly crafting the next piece for Fashionably Late Takes that will fully embody the concept. After I explain the idea behind my lab leak drawings, the meaning of “visual essay” will come into sharper focus.
How to Save a Drawing
But first, let’s talk shop. Anyone who loves to draw should develop strategies for bringing their artwork back from the dead, because accidents happen: