If You Can See It, You Can Find It - framed mini wardrobe elastic drawing V10 (Japanese denim coat / white elastic)
One framed elastic drawing comprised of hemmed elastic (8mm) and steel panel pins (1.25x25mm) on fabric on MDF, box-framed with untreated pine and fixings. Made in the UK at The Workshop of Matt Montini
57.5 x 41.5 x 3cm // 22 ⅝ x 15 ¼ x 1”
The If You Can See It, You Can Find It (2016-2020) elastic drawing series consists of 4 different scenes with 12 different coloured backgrounds. Each depict the same open wardrobe with either an umbrella, coat, t-shirt, swimsuit or calendar hanging inside. This listing is for a scene with a swimsuit hanging on a Japanese denim background with white elastic.
Our elastic drawings are made by stretching pieces of hemmed flat elastic around over one hundred nails installed on a coloured background creating a chunky sculptural 3D outline. Each work begins with an image search through archives, vintage cartoon books and magazines, and instruction manuals. Imagery is extracted from its source and a new geometric composition is redrawn and simplified in order to suit the technique of tracing the elastic around the nails. A custom template is then made with each nail marked and each piece of elastic measured and sewn. The work is both a manual and a protocol.
The title of the series: If You Can See It, You Can Find It serves as a mantra and state-of-mind while looking at the work. It poses a question but also attempts to provide a definitive positive answer.
This elastic drawing is made especially for a domestic environment where it can co-habit with the surroundings it finds itself in. The nature of the drawing and it's open-door refers to and compliments existing domestic architectural elements and can also resemble a portal to another time or place. It always reminds us of the scene in the film Beetlejuice (1988, Tim Burton) where a door is drawn in chalk on a brick wall and if you knock on it and repeat Beetlejuice's name three times, the door opens into a mist of green light. Try knocking on this wardrobe door and saying Montini's name three times, we can't promise but we think something will happen with the right intent.
Disclaimer: Please note this work is not protected with glass. Regular dusting with compressed air is advised. The work is intended to be in use indoors and any documentation otherwise is for illustrative purposes only.
Contact: Please contact us (
workshop@theestateofmattmontini.com) to discuss payment plans if required, or if you are interested in purchasing more than one drawing.
