Refuge is Instinctive.
Two adult polar bears gather around their young, their bodies folding inward to create a sheltered form.
Nothing has been drawn to create the heart.
It emerges from the relationship between them.
The adults surround the young, creating a quiet space within.
The young remain held at the centre.
Refuge becomes form.
Sculptural Presence.
Charcoal becomes volume.
Though created entirely through drawing, Refuge is conceived as a physical form.
The bodies overlap, fold and hold one another, creating a sense of mass and volume across the paper.
The adults create a natural enclosure around the young.
Light gives the forms weight.
Shadow gives them depth.
The drawing begins to feel less like an image of four polar bears and more like a single protective presence.
Scale
160 × 113 cm
Wild Hearts originals are created at museum scale so the work can be encountered rather than simply viewed.
At full size, the relationship between the animals becomes physical.
The drawing occupies space.
The scale creates presence.
Look closer.
At distance, Refuge resolves into one quiet form.
Closer, the surface breaks apart into fur, texture, shadow and individual charcoal marks.
The work rewards time.
What first appears simple becomes increasingly intricate the longer it is seen.
The Material.
Charcoal on French cotton paper
Refuge is drawn on museum-grade French cotton paper selected for its ability to hold fine marks, subtle tonal transitions and the density of charcoal required to build the forms.
The white of the paper remains visible throughout the work.
It is not background.
It is part of the composition.
The Original
Refuge
Unique original
160 × 113 cm
Charcoal on French cotton paper
Signed by Rob Harris & Georgia Harris
Limited Edition
A strictly limited edition of Refuge is available for collectors who wish to own the work without acquiring the unique original.
Each edition is produced on museum-grade paper, signed and numbered by both artists, and accompanied by collector documentation.
View editions
Wild Hearts
Refuge is one work within an evolving series of fifteen.
Each work explores a different expression of connection, protection and belonging through the physical relationship between animals.
