ADRIFT
variations
In the “Adrift” series, a solitary boat floats gently on a sea of unknowns. Hochbaum first came across the image of the boat while looking through a Dover collection of historical city woodcuts. A tiny ferry and its driver appeared in the water near the bottom of one illustration, a peripheral detail that might easily go unnoticed. He has collected and used these pictorial reference books for decades, drawing on their imagery for his collages and other works through both direct reference and the reworking of individual details.
Hochbaum isolated the boat from its surroundings and removed its driver, transforming it into an unmanned vessel left to drift. He then made a linocut based on the altered image, producing several prints on paper before developing a group of works on wood. Using an acetate transparency, he also projected the image onto wood to create larger versions.
Some works incorporate text drawn from passing thoughts, recurring themes, inside jokes, or favorite quotes. These fragments are not necessarily connected to the boat, but introduce another thread of personal association.
As the series grew across paper and wood, the boat became a vessel for contemplation, carrying emotions between serenity and surrender. Its quiet journey evokes a sense of peaceful detachment, yet with purpose. Each work offers a small meditation on the unseen forces that guide us and the possibility of finding solace in drifting. The image remains an ongoing source of exploration for Hochbaum, one he may continue returning to indefinitely.
