Drawing, for Bereal, is rhythmic figuration, in which movements of the pencil become like improvisational beats and rhythmic pulses. Verbalizing his drawing technique, he falls into a spoken mimicry of tempos that he associates with jazz and blues. Bereal’s vocal intonations, as articulated in repeated sounds, parallels and analogizes the repeated strokes of his pencil. Consequently, we might say that we listen to Bereal’s self-portrait drawings as much as we behold them.

- Matthew Simms, from Ed Bereal: Drawing Between the Boxes, “Wanted Ed Bereal for Disturbing the Peace,” The Whatcom Museum, Bellingham, WA.