Installation, mix media, 2012.
“What an expansive but elemental title you’ve given your work. How do you relate thematically to the synthetic approach of ‘point, line and plane’ geometry, and to Kandinsky’s reading of it?
The sky has a strong, over bearing presence at the site of the Waterman’s building. The suburban location of the piece consists of low buildings and the river Thames setting an open horizon. I wanted to use this feature to realign the spectator’s relationship with the natural environment of the sky and to expand their experience of the space. The geometric abstraction allowed me to emphasize this relationship by drawing lines of light between the earth and the nocturnal sky. In ‘Point, Line and Plane,’ Kandinsky describes the line as the very expression of movement: “The destruction of the point’s supreme immobility”... “the leap of the static towards the dynamic.” The laser beams from the mirrors of the sculpture are animated either simultaneously or separately, projecting from the terrace of the art center. According to their positions in the sky the lines of light create a confrontational link and dynamic movements against the sky. By observing the laser lines from different viewpoints, one can see various elementary geometric forms. The line also directs the viewer’s gaze and draws it deeper into the sky. Geometry is first and foremost a tool to measure the world.
Art has, through history; managed to bridge cultural divides, as indeed Morse code bridges linguistic ones. Where does you work communicate itself? Is the freedom of art and signals to overcome boundaries relevant in your art?
Geometry uses an abstract code to transmit a symbolic message. The light code evokes, for me, a human construction that defies the immensity of space. In this sense it is a rather humanist vision. Perhaps this also calls to mind a more instinctive human communication, a rather savage one, between man on earth and the vast presence of the sky. It reminds me of the way in which fireworks use an almost instinctive language to dazzle the obscurity of night.”
Excerpt from an interview with Claire le Gouellec. LEONARDO ELECTRONIC ALMANAC VOL 18 NO 3 / MIT Press.
Laser projection on metal sculpture (H : 12 M) and rotatives programmed mirrors blades (L: 4M).
Media
culture24.org
LEONARDO ELECTRONIC ALMANAC VOL 18 NO 3 / MIT Press
Production
London Greater Authority, Olympic Games 2012
Collaborators
Bonfiglioli, motors
Atelier Delarasse, metal
David Simpson, lasers
Diffusion
Watermans Art Center (Jan. to Oct. 2012), curated by Irini Papadimitriou
