Incense Workers Series - 3 by Alan Kilpatrick (b. 1963) captures through a thick grouping of charcoal the shadow of an incense worker carrying a basket, with a structure behind them and another worker looking down while they work. Some depth can be seen around the basket, where Kilpatrick uses lighter layers of charcoal to convey the shape of the worker's arms and the weave of the basket. The use of the majority of the subjects being entirely in shadow creates a feeling of intensity around the work and an ambiguity to the identities of the workers. 

Kilpatrick created this group of Incense Workers drawings by studying incense's base ingredients of charcoal, coconut shell, mud, and husk. He studied the daily struggles of incense industry workers in India and how they meet the increasing demands of the global incense trade. Kilpatrick here puts the focus on the workers and artisans whose practices and customs are increasingly in jeopardy due to rapid technological developments in India's industry sector. 

Alan Kilpatrick, born 1963

Alan Kilpatrick was born in Assam and has been living and working in Edinburgh since 1991. He graduated from London's St Martin's School of Art. Many collections own his work, including the Royal Bank of Scotland, Bank of Scotland, The Bonham, Turcan Connell, and Hans Rausing.