The Secret Life of Pencils

The humble pencil is found where most of mankind’s most outstanding achievements begin. But will the touch-screen generation ever feel the pleasure of a freshly sharpened pencil or the frustration of a shattered lead?

This photographic project seeks to savour the use of pencils – documenting them in stunning detail, and thereby showing the secrets of their use and revealing an insight into their users: professionals who have defined themselves and their craft with the help of the modest stylus.

Unassuming, unsung, and 0.02% the cost of an ipad, our faithful friend continues to lead its many secret lives alongside much more complex technology but is still at the heart of our most decisive and moving creators.

This collection of pencil images is a direct link back to some of the 20th and 21st centuries’ greatest illustrations, buildings, artworks, photo-graphs, products, make-up designs, graphics, novels, poems, fashion, cartoons, and even films.

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