I was attracted to a very small photograph in a magazine which showed a crowd of people in the shape of an arc surrounding a very large object at the front of the picture. I was more taken by the composition and shapes of the standing figures and made a series of studies based on them. However in sketches the shape of the large amorphous object at the front became more fascinating, not because of any details but because of its ambiguity and large size compared to the rest of the picture. It could have been the shadow of something - a huge hole, or massive object. Also the fact that it was surrounded by viewers showed that it was somehow obscurely significant.

Having always been interested in the ambiguity of shadows and the mystery of their existence and non-existence mysterious black spaces seemed to fall into this category.
The mysterious black space no doubt existed in the picture because it had edges and was surrounded by other areas, but what was its significance? It must have some significance otherwise why would it have been drawn and painted. A beginning and an end in one?