Axis Mundi: Drawing Down the Moon extends Fielden’s earlier exploration of the axis mundi form through a performative drawing made directly onto the studio wall. Using chunks of chalk cast and broken to resemble stones, she repeatedly ascended and descended a ladder, drawing a vertical line until the material was exhausted. As the chalk wore down, a pile of dust accumulated at the base of the wall, forming a small mound from which the line emerged.

The action draws on the symbolic structure of the axis mundi—a vertical connection between earthly and celestial realms—referenced across cultural and religious traditions through forms such as the ladder, tree, mountain and spire. Here, the repeated movement of the body on the ladder invokes the ascent and descent of angels on Jacob’s Ladder. The drawn line extends beyond the limits of the frame, suggesting an infinite continuation, while the accumulating dust gathers below. The work unfolds through a tension between ascent and gravity, where the line reaches upward as the material falls, tracing a vertical passage shaped by effort, depletion and return.