This is our third installment in a breathtaking portfolio of images by Robert & Shana Parkeharrison, published in Kris Van Assche’s A#7 in 2008. The four pieces presented here are entitled ‘Scribe’, ‘Spring Arm’, ‘Summer Arm’ and ‘Winter Arm’, from the series Counterpoint that has been in progress since 2005.

The artists offer a surreal representation of growth, seasons and human interaction with the natural environment in this series of charming yet gruesome still-lifes. In ‘Scribe’ a human hand is weighed down by a tattoo needle, being fed not with ink but the writer’s own blood, painting a thick line of red through fresh white snow.

The spring, summer and winter pieces each portray the respective seasons along the length of Robert Parkeharrison’s forearm – an organic living and breathing canvas for their elaborate ‘sets’ of flowers, plants and insects. Bees hover over luscious comb in ‘Spring Arm’, butterflies swoop above an orchid and fern fronds and eerie metallic frameworks in ‘Summer Arm’, and dark bare branches are quietly watched by Robert’s shadowy face in ‘Winter Arm’.

Robert & Shana Parkeharrison’s work was considered by Kris Van Assche as one of the most exciting ‘coups’ for his issue of A, as he discovered these newer works only in the months before printing.

We would like to offer special thanks to Robert & Shana for endorsing our continuing use of their special artwork, and the Jack Shainman Gallery of New York for their help with A#7.