Mixed medium collage on paper. A spontaneous experimental work that considers the elements of art: color, line, shape, texture, repetition, space-negative and positive, composition, movement, balance- to use as many of the art elements and explore what comes forth like an alchemist turning something mundane into something precious. At first glance, to the untrained eye, one would be forgiven for thinking, "how ugly" or " my six year old could do better". Summed up in cliches such as beauty is skin deep, or one's trash is another's treasure or beauty is in the eye of the beholder. However, if one looks again and again and perhaps more to the point, a trained eye could see and understand how the elements of art have been used, played with, manipulated. To create something that when looked at again and again brings forth a deeper understanding of what is going on. Clues dropped here and there perhaps gone unnoticed like graffiti on a dirty wall. Textures underlayed by repetitive lines and shapes to invoke or trigger various unsettled feelings or phobias that could be associated with the trauma of war and violence. Color as symbolic. For example the blue and yellow innocuous scribbles representing the offical colors of Ukraine surrounded by more sinister colors of Russia. To interpret the ugliness of war. The sketch of two figures in the corner are identified as Cloak and Dagger which forms part of the title. The names and the title are based on a past experience. The sketch was made while visiting Istanbul, sitting at an outdoor cafe with little tables and stools lining both sides of the street. Young men bringing customers small glasses with Turkish coffee or chai. The street filled with the hustle and bustle of tourists, workers, locals and foreigners. As I began to sketch the people seated across from me on the other side of the street, a funny intrusive thought popped into my head, perhaps what I am doing could be considered somewhat suspicious, not the norm- as if the act of sketching was actually a cover for some sort of undercover espionage. The wild thought killed my vibe for sketching as I became more aware of my surroundings and how people might perceive what I was doing as subversive? Perhaps my imagination had run amok. After all Istanbul is an international destination where civilizations meet and clash which also has its share of geo political unrest. In 2016, a faction of the military tried to stage a coup, but failed. There have been fatal bombings at the airport It was based on this notion that I decided to utilize the sketch within this larger artwork. It was no longer just an abstract, but something which conveyed a deeper sentiment regarding the world at large; if one cares to stop and take the time to look or just dismiss it as ugly and walk on by... I have been drawn to this type of method of working intuitively, challenging myself by creating problems and then through play and experimentation trying to push through to solve them. Hit or miss, the process is never ending...