Joe Biel

Head in Hands

Head in Hands by Joe Biel is part of a larger series of drawings made in connection with the book of short stories Navigating Ghosts by Annie Buckley. Biel’s small-scale black and white drawing features a torso holding their own head in their hands, though the expression on the bodiless face maintains a serene sensibility. The edges of the drawing around the figure’s neck and torso are softened so that the figure appears ghostly, as if the character is an illusion or dream. Head in Hands uses concrete objects to describe the dream-like layers of feeling and psychological outlooks discussed in the book. The stories in Buckley’s book are largely about identity and memory, therefore Biel was more interested in responding to the internal, psychological states that Buckley conjures, rather than depicting specific narratives or actions that play out in her stories. This way of working is closely related to Biel’s broader practice, which is more interested in the metaphoric than the literal.