April 17, 2011

Wayward Land



































Chart of Segment of the Western Arctic North and Northwest of Grant Land by Edwin Swift Balch, 1912, showing the unexplored 'Crocker Land', sighted by Robert Peary in 1906. This fabled land lead to an ill-fated expedition to explore the nature and possible inhabitants of Crocker Land, however they discovered the land in fact, did not exist, and was actually a type of mirage known as a Fata Morgana.

The day was exceptionally clear, not a cloud or trace of mist; if land could be seen, now was our time . Yes, there it was! It could even be seen without a glass, extending from southwest true to northeast. Our powerful glasses, however.. brought out more clearly the dark background in contrast with the white) the whole resembling hills, valleys and snow-capped peaks to such a degree that, had we not been out on the frozen sea for 150 miles, we would have staked our lives upon its reality. Our judgment then as now, is that this was a mirage or loom of the sea ice.

 This imaginary land mass, created by a trick of the light, and the subsequent effort of the Crocker Land Expedition, is the basis for a new work I have begun in my new studio space. A hand embroidered rendering of this map on a white shower curtain, stitched in white thread and fishing line, blurring outlines with surroundings, incorporating materials which will shimmer in the light, reflecting upon ideas of mirages and mistaken realities, and the feeling of being small and inconsequential in a vast, cold landscape.

This is the first work of a series I am working on involving ideas about loneliness, solitude, islands, ships and the sea.

"...the Crocker Land mirage could symbolise the loneliness of the sea in another way. It is almost like a delusion instead of an illusion, something Donald Crowhurst may have imagined seeing, to convince himself of his sanity (or lack thereof). The sense of false hope a mirage can cause, just like how a weary traveller in the desert believes the mirage he is seeing is an oasis, it is uncanny how it appears to take the form of the thing one most desires, and the opposite of what is actually there - in the desert one believes he is seeing water, whereas at sea, one thinks he has sighted land."
- notes from my art journal about Crocker Land and mirages.

April 9, 2011

Diet

As 'The Thin White Duke', Bowie's persona throughout 1976, his diet consisted of 'Red pepper, cocaine, and milk".

Duet

David Bowie and Mick Ronson kick off the American leg of The  Ziggy Stardust and The Spiders from Mars Tour, Cleveland, Ohio, 1972.

April 7, 2011

Office supplies

In an effort to add a little colour and personalise my at present rather drab new work abode, I pinned up these four postcards - featuring artwork by Clinton Watkins, Claire Cooper and Simon Esling; and a postcard sent from my grandmother while she was holidaying in Florence in 1990.

Soon my office (the fact I have an office to myself is still a foreign concept) will be the 'library triage': full of forlorn books needing immediate medical attention - broken spines, torn pages or loose leaves, as one of my duties is to mend and tend to damaged books, surely one of the funnest responsibilities of a library assistant.