A slight elevation in the surface of the drawing occurs at the point where two pieces of paper overlap. The pigmented paper is dark, its shadow is subtle, and the raised form is only visible in a certain light. Situated directly above the torn-edged opening, which mirrors its form, the overlapping paper serves as a counterpoint to what looks like a sliver or a wedge, or maybe even a leg below. The slick hard cream white of the underlying support provides a stark contrast to the soft red paper and marks the moment where naked ground is made to serve as figure.
With this subtle undulation, the surface of the drawing can be read as a miniature landscape. To think about it in this way is to consider the minute shifts we might see if the drawing were rotated to a sectional view that revealed its surface properties, as if it were a scaled view of geological strata. It’s almost as if, as with sculptural form, the drawing is being turned in thought, so that the viewer can see how it looks from another angle.