Gen Doy/ The Sea of Emotions

Gen Doy is a British artist living and working in London. Gen worked as a historian and theorist of visual culture at De Montfort University, Leicester, before studying fine art, graduating with an M.A.(Distinction) in 2013. Her work has been broadcast on radio (eg. Resonance FM, UK), installed in galleries (eg. M2 gallery, Bush House), included in publications (Photology.Photographers and Metaphor,editioni Fosco Fornio, 2021), and performed in indoor and outdoor settings (eg. Roman Bath Strand Lane, London, Woolwich Garrison Church, London), and she is the recipient of two bursaries from a-n the artists’ information company.

Back of an Envelope Drawing 1: The Sea off the Coast of Gaza

Pencil and charcoal on paper envelope

31x49cm, 2025

In the murky sea off the coast of Gaza, we see pollution, lack of mature fish, wrecked fishing boats and human bones. A bathysphere seems to be surveying the scene. Fishermen from Gaza have been shot by the Israeli military and their boats destroyed. Sewage runs into the sea as the treatment plants have no fuel to keep them working. Overfishing has meant a lack of large fish, as Palestinian fishermen dare not venture far off the coast to look for bigger catches. The coast and the sea have been severely damaged, as have the human inhabitants. The idea of the "back of an envelope drawing" refers to the derogatory way that people sometimes describe some idea or proposal as "a few lines on the back of an envelope", meaning it is ill-thought through, under-researched and pretty worthless. I challenge this and aim to show that the lines on the back of an envelope can present us with very thoughtful material.