Life Aquatic

Life Aquatic is an exhibition of drawings that honour the meditative act of fly-fishing and tying. Erich Franz explains: “when undertaking these tasks one must adopt a certain rhythm – move too fast or too slow and it won’t work.” Finding this pace involves focus and repetition; once it is achieved Franz finds himself completely present in the moment, comfortably lost in the task at hand. Carefully planned in advance, each drawing is developed using a mandala format and a detailed repeating pattern taking up to forty hours to complete. The imagery within the mandalas themselves draws from aquatic ecology, and from equipment specific to the world of fly-fishing and tying. The level of commitment demanded by Franz’ drawing process is equal to his passion for fly-fishing and tying. Life Aquatic is an exhibition that embodies this passion, and speaks to the importance of taking time for one’s self.