Case Study: An Artist Interview About Diane Victor’s Smoke Drawings and Implications for Conservation

ABSTRACT The South African artist Diane Victor explores soot as a medium, using candles to create magnificent artworks on paper, and more recently on stone and glass. The messy and dark soot created by cheap candle flame symbolizes the fragility dying lives and is mirrored in the vulnerability of the medium. As the presence of these delicate artworks is increased in collections, understanding their preservation concerns and needs is warranted. The author interviewed the artist to understand her creation process and the dilemma that lies in the inherent fragility of her soot artworks. Victor’s material choices and methods on all aspects of handling, storage, framing, and transportation were recorded. The ramifications of Victor’s choices are discussed and safer options from a preservation point of view are mentioned. Lastly, the interview reveals the artist’s understanding and thoughts on conservation and in particular remedial treatment of both paper and image.