Before all the figures, before all the animals, the touches, relationships, and inside jokes, there was simply a line. 

 

A simple line of pencil on paper. 

 

This line, in the hands of Nimrod Nishri, is naked and vunerable. It lets itself tire from movement. 

 

In Nimrod's drawings, there is neither light nor shadow. There is no attempt at building texture, no background to ground or contextualize, no sense of time. There are no tricks of perception nor proportional correctness. The images are neither layered nor compositionally complex. They reveals itself through a simple and humble contour, framing a singular shape, a confrontation, a fleeting moment. 

 

Nishri often draws inspiration from other artworks, from illustrations in books, and current events. The point of departure remains in the background as the drawing emerges through a language which is entirely personal and private (regardless of whether the source is a book of Rodin, a Disney's movie, a Greek mythology, a documentation of Sumo wrestlers, or a news article).

 

The drawings describe relational situations and carry an emotive power.

 

Many of the drawings show figures leaning against one another, sharing a tender caress. A female nude appears sometimes like a huge material figure, a fertility goddess, or a fragile and vulnerable character. Sometimes the characters are enthralled in a fight, a physical confrontation without clear boundaries. At times, animals appear, and other times they become hybrid humans. Almost always, they are smiling.