Spencer Harrison
Tape Measures
30.06.21 – 17.07.21

This series of 52 drawings by Spencer Harrison reflect on the way social distancing has impacted our experience of physical spaces throughout the pandemic, in particular the profuse use of striped hazard tape. Wrapped around playgrounds, sports facilities and other urban spaces, these bold graphic marks interrupted our social spaces, creating visual ruptures that became a striking symbol of alienation, disruption and fear. Through the act of drawing, Harrison attempts to neutralize the psychological effects of these tape barriers, by returning texture and evidence of the human hand to these bold geometries. Acting as a kind of calendar or marks on a wall, these drawings represent a passing of time; a year in which periods of lock-down caused our social and physical spaces to become confined. Although reflecting on this year of confinement, the drawings contain an optimism for its eventual end, with their bright colours hinting at future celebration and a return to shared space once more.