Creative Quarantine: Exquisite Corpse

Exquisite Corpse is a surrealist art game that we love in my family, in fact it's part of the inspiration behind my collaborative installation Sister Octopi. It's a parlour game that started in Parisian cafés in the early 1920s pioneered by artists like André Breton, Frida Khalo, Benjamin Péret and Henry Miller. The basic idea is that several artists create a collaborative sketch on a folded sheet of paper, each contributing a portion without seeing what the others have done. The sketch is unfolded at the end to reveal unexpected combinations in line with the principles of the surrealist art movement.

I've made a little twist on that original game to create a version that you can make on your own or with family members during the quarantine.

Required Material:

• An A4 sheet of card stock or thick art paper, cut into quarters (or 3 A6 sheets)

• Drawing material (pencils, paint, crayons, pastels… whatever you have on hand)

• A ruler

• A list art prompts, here I'm using animal characteristics (lives underwater, has a tail, lives in the jungle, has fur, lives underground… etc) but you can also create your own list

Step 1: Line up 3 cards vertically. Make a small mark at the junction between the cards 2.5 cm from the edge on both sides.

Step 2: Draw 3 art prompts at random, note one on the back of each card and label them top, middle or bottom.

Step 3: Sketch a head inspired from the first art prompt on the top card, a lower body inspired be the second prompt on the middle card, and legs inspired by the third prompt on the bottom card. Make sure the your drawing begin and/or finish with marks made on the cards in step 1.

Step 4: Line up the cards again to reveal your creature! It's especially fun to do the game more than once, then you can mix and match all the different cards.

There are tons of possible variations:

• Split the cards with 2 other family members and each make one of the sketches

• Switch mediums between cards, doing one with paint, one with pastel, one with graphite etc

• Draw a full person but change the clothing style on each card, for example: a hijab, a kimono and motorcycle boots

We also made a version of this project for Jameel Arts Centre's fantastic Jaddaf Aloud Online initiative which features DIY projects and tutorials from many other local artists!