Each line one breath
Each line one breath titles a limited edition of 50 freehand drawings, which focuses on an artistic and graphic interpretation of evolution through the use of simple drawn lines. The edition starts from the premise that the initiation of any drawing, its fundamental prerequisite — a line — coincides with the most basic and transcendental state of life, the perception of breathing.
Franzen on his creative process:
When I draw, I draw the void. Not the line. I focus on the nothingness around the line. It is a sort of meditation. My mind is clear. My focus is on the mere moment. There is only this one moment. Everything is still. Never thoughts are louder and feelings profounder than in this moment. My mind transcends into bare presence. Personality becomes formless and nameless. With each breath the emptiness is filled more and more. With every line I get closer to my origin.
For this reason I draw… it’s as if the universe vibrates on my skin and wakes up a powerful emotion inside my body. It’s like I’m listening to the inaudible sound of the energy in the universe which flows around and through me. This triggers a feeling of conjunction with incomparable originality. I disappear completely as a person or thing and I merge completely this bare energy to merge with the whole being.