Even as she lays down the pen on her latest picture, and with the ink still drying, Mel Kadel‘s work feels like it has been around forever. This timeless familiarity in the LA-based artist’s style can be attributed to a number of factors — not least the tricks Kadel plays with her paper. Each leaf used on her original work is torn by hand and stained with coffee before being left to dry in the strong Californian sun, ageing the work a couple of decades in a matter of hours.
The medium has a vintage quality that perfectly suits the subject matter. Kadel’s work puts one in mind of children’s book illustrations of yesteryear, as though the viewer is rediscovering a favourite, well-thumbed old bedtime favourite buried a box in the attic. The scenes layer youthful innocence with an underlying maturity, topped with a fantastical element — resulting in something which flits between the excitement of the as-yet-undiscovered and the comfort of a cherished blanket.
This latest series of works, titled Sky’s Eyes, sees Kadel shift from large- to small-scale, and over the past year the artist has produced over 100 new single frame stories. The complete set is on view at Slow Culture in Los Angeles from 2 October to 1 November.
Installation photography, morgnar
