I named this series of drawings “Red Threads.” I drew red lines through all these drawings with women’s portraits. The references of the portrait were from photos of women in the 19th century. Because I was inspired by the short story “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, which was published in 1892. It is a story about a woman being controlled in a male-dominated society.
In Chinese culture, “red thread” indicated the destiny that binds all soul mates or lovers together. In ancient Chinese folklore, a mythical matchmaker name “Yue Lao” controls the fate that led lovers to meet. He did that by tying a red thread to each person. That’s why “red thread” also symbolizes “marriage.” I found it interesting that the color red signifies happiness and good luck in Chinese culture. But in western culture, it indicates danger and expresses warning. “Threads” also sounds similar to “Threats.” The topic of domestic violence towards women is what I want to discuss in this series of drawings.
I used 9″ x12″ watercolor paper, monolith pencils, gouache, and watercolor graphite for this project. I also used tea to stain my drawing papers, which gives those papers an antique look and adds textures to my drawings.