Know By Heart, Book 2026. In 2022 I had open heart surgery. The experience of my body failing, changed how I saw and knew myself. The Invisible, intangible machine that kept me alive began to fail. I’m this process I heard every beat and felt every misfire. I became viscerally aware that this fragile; alive, sinuous part of me could stop. Know by heart is a book about life through death. An exploration of drawing to feel to know and to understand life.
Know by heart, book, 2026
- A book about life, death, and hearts inspired by my experience with open heart surgery.
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I was drawn to the anatomised body in my research for this work. There is a tension here, behind each image lies a quiet tragedy: Someone else’s catastrophe, presented for our attention. But this tension is key.
Simon Estok in his book Material Ecocriticism says 'we shelter ourselves from the harrowing vulnerability of our bodies existence.’
As such this book is a confrontation on the urge to look away.
Know by heart, book, 2026
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As we look inside ourselves, we consider our place in nature. We think we are removed from it, but it lies within us.
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I was overwhelmed by the positive feedback I received from my previous video of me opening this book a couple of days ago. I did not expect for it to get the feedback it did. I am incredibly humbled and grateful to everyone who resonated with the work. This project is still in development and not available for purchase unfortunately. Until it is finished, here is a preview of what’s inside…
Anatomy of a dissected heart
‘When we draw, we begin to embody the object of our observation.’
Graphite on paper
150mm x 200mm
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#Graphite #drawinganatomy #Pencilsketch
BEN LEDI DAY 4: 3
01.11.25
-2° 80 kph
Gale force winds
130mm x 150 mm
Charcoal on paper-
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- #expressivdrawing #graphite #charcoal #abstractlandscape #contemporarydrawing #drawingfromlife #landscapedrawing #scottishlandscape #scottishdrawing
BEN LEDI DAY 4: 2
01.11.25
-2°
80 kph
Gale force winds
130mm x 150 mm
Charcoal on paper-
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- #expressivdrawing #graphite #charcoal #abstractlandscape #contemporarydrawing #drawingfromlife #landscapedrawing #scottishlandscape #scottishdrawing
