How does communication begin? How do we learn to express thoughts, to see ourselves in others, to understand the world? Instead of answers, we are met with a black wall where memory should exist, wiped clean through the never-ending process of learning and unlearning, the mind at work long before we can recall.

Muriel Smith casts a thread deep into the recesses of precognitive thought and development, unwinding it further and further until it snags against a pivotal act in the infancy of many: picking up a pencil, and making a first mark on the world. 

A new world is breached, one that explores texture, material, colour, motor function, pressure, an abundance of feelings that beg to be experienced. An influx of sensation and information, overwhelming in its newness, a discovered reservoir for interaction.

An earnest journey into the beginnings of the mind’s development, Baby Drawings leads its viewer through years of mark-making, identifying it as a method of communication. It asks the question, why is drawing considered a childish activity, when its practice was so integral to our maturation? How would we communicate now, if art-making remained a pivotal and valued aspect of our lives?

Beautifully curated and organized, Baby Drawings leaves a lasting impression on its viewer, and highlights the importance of art-making in contemporary growth.

Carleen Loney
Animator and former Concordia student