proposal for the 2010 Spitalfields Sculpture Prize
Downriver further develops my established practice of making ‘dissected’ map sculptures. Previously, I have taken actual source maps and cut away everything from them except one particular visual element, which is then presented as a three-dimensional paper sculpture. More recently I have extended this approach by re-drawing existing maps and using those drawings as the basis for three-dimensional constructions and installations fabricated from other materials (see Terminator Maquette (2007) and Let Me Count the Ways (2008)).
Downriver is a torqued square section aluminium sculpture derived from a map of the River Thames. It shows the characteristic and recognisable s-shaped meander of the lower reaches of the river as it appears in a particular schematic rendering. It is a square at ground level that decreases in size as it snakes its way high into the air.
The source is the London Connections transport map. The outline of the river course from this map has been extracted and re-drawn to form a cut out ‘picture’ (see concept drawing 3). This serves as a template for one of the elevation faces of the sculpture. The form derives from notionally ‘extruding’ the elevation out into a section that is square, but maintains an equal side length to the elevation as it diminishes in width. This square section ‘cut out’ is then topologically transformed, as though it had been curved and stretched out from its base (concept drawing 2, not submitted). The final form is presented as a self-supporting sculpture, which displays a change to the map’s original orientation. The convention of placing north uppermost has been dispensed with and the sculpture stands on the thickest part of the river drawing that was previously ‘on the right’. By interfering with the conventional details of the map, its original utilitarian function has been removed and its shapes have been transformed into something more pictorial. It is a sort of hybrid; an ‘image-object’.
The final work is intended to stand approximately 12 metres tall, with its base having a side length of approximately 1 metre. The work will be entirely fabricated from aluminium and will be constructed in curved and welded square section tube, which will then be faced with thin curved sheeting. The surface of the piece will be brightly polished (see concept drawing 1) and allowed to naturally patina outdoors after installation. Due to the slim nature of the form, the internal tubular structure will be triangulated via a three-dimensional CAD model and sufficiently engineered to withstand any turning forces. The final build structure will be determined through a process of consultation with structural engineers and will also take into account the additional strength of the outer skin. Concept drawing 4 (not submitted) shows an artist’s impression of the internal structure, which, since it lacks the outer skin in this case, appears as slightly over-engineered. The sculpture will be securely set into an appropriate concrete foundation and will appear to simply sit upon the surface of the ground.
The initial surface polish of Downriver is intended to symbolise the ancient pristine state of the Thames before its exploitation during the development of the city. Downriver will slowly tarnish and dull over an extended period of time, echoing the real-world changes to the riparian environment. The East End of London has been characterised in art and literature as a psychogeographically charged portal to the city, with the River Thames as its principal ancient trackway. For me, the wide meander of the river’s eastern reaches is a potent symbol of this intriguing locality. Downriver is named after Iain Sinclair’s seminal 1991 novel, which explores the transformations of the Thames’ legendary waterland. Sinclair wrote that ‘I wanted to unwind congeries of narrative in the form of a novel, to travel backwards down a changed and changing river’.
As an artist, and previously as a student, the Spitalfields area in particular has always exerted a powerful fascination for me. It is personally important to me as the scene of one of my early career exhibitions. My first ever map sculpture, Carcass (1993), was exhibited in Brick Lane in 1994 in the Rear Window exhibition City of Dreadful Night, which occupied the basement of the Trueman Brewery bottling plant. I have also recently completed a map sculpture depicting the East End, My Beating Heart (2007), which was commissioned by collectors who live in the area.
The principal production costs for the Downriver sculpture concept arise from the three-dimensional CAD modelling, the construction of the metalwork, the structural engineering consultation and the site works. The build concept takes into account the scope of this prize and is achievable within the overall budget available.
A note on copyright Downriver appropriates an image from a map that is in copyright. The appropriation of an existing design or drawing, with regard to copyright, falls under the definition of quotation. In order for the use of such an image to create a new copyright for the appropriating artist, the new work must pass the UK law's originality test. This requires that the appropriating artist ‘adds substantially more of their own independent skill and labour' for the viewer to see than remains to be seen of the original work. As a matter of courtesy, I will seek permission to use the map image from the Association of Train Operating Companies and Transport for London, who own the map copyright.
Jonathan Parsons, August 2009
proposal for the 2010 Spitalfields Sculpture Prize
Downriver further develops my established practice of making ‘dissected’ map sculptures. Previously, I have taken actual source maps and cut away everything from them except one particular visual element, which is then presented as a three-dimensional paper sculpture. More recently I have extended this approach by re-drawing existing maps and using those drawings as the basis for three-dimensional constructions and installations fabricated from other materials (see Terminator Maquette (2007) and Let Me Count the Ways (2008)).
Downriver is a torqued square section aluminium sculpture derived from a map of the River Thames. It shows the characteristic and recognisable s-shaped meander of the lower reaches of the river as it appears in a particular schematic rendering. It is a square at ground level that decreases in size as it snakes its way high into the air.
The source is the London Connections transport map. The outline of the river course from this map has been extracted and re-drawn to form a cut out ‘picture’ (see concept drawing 3). This serves as a template for one of the elevation faces of the sculpture. The form derives from notionally ‘extruding’ the elevation out into a section that is square, but maintains an equal side length to the elevation as it diminishes in width. This square section ‘cut out’ is then topologically transformed, as though it had been curved and stretched out from its base (concept drawing 2, not submitted). The final form is presented as a self-supporting sculpture, which displays a change to the map’s original orientation. The convention of placing north uppermost has been dispensed with and the sculpture stands on the thickest part of the river drawing that was previously ‘on the right’. By interfering with the conventional details of the map, its original utilitarian function has been removed and its shapes have been transformed into something more pictorial. It is a sort of hybrid; an ‘image-object’.
The final work is intended to stand approximately 12 metres tall, with its base having a side length of approximately 1 metre. The work will be entirely fabricated from aluminium and will be constructed in curved and welded square section tube, which will then be faced with thin curved sheeting. The surface of the piece will be brightly polished (see concept drawing 1) and allowed to naturally patina outdoors after installation. Due to the slim nature of the form, the internal tubular structure will be triangulated via a three-dimensional CAD model and sufficiently engineered to withstand any turning forces. The final build structure will be determined through a process of consultation with structural engineers and will also take into account the additional strength of the outer skin. Concept drawing 4 (not submitted) shows an artist’s impression of the internal structure, which, since it lacks the outer skin in this case, appears as slightly over-engineered. The sculpture will be securely set into an appropriate concrete foundation and will appear to simply sit upon the surface of the ground.
The initial surface polish of Downriver is intended to symbolise the ancient pristine state of the Thames before its exploitation during the development of the city. Downriver will slowly tarnish and dull over an extended period of time, echoing the real-world changes to the riparian environment. The East End of London has been characterised in art and literature as a psychogeographically charged portal to the city, with the River Thames as its principal ancient trackway. For me, the wide meander of the river’s eastern reaches is a potent symbol of this intriguing locality. Downriver is named after Iain Sinclair’s seminal 1991 novel, which explores the transformations of the Thames’ legendary waterland. Sinclair wrote that ‘I wanted to unwind congeries of narrative in the form of a novel, to travel backwards down a changed and changing river’.
As an artist, and previously as a student, the Spitalfields area in particular has always exerted a powerful fascination for me. It is personally important to me as the scene of one of my early career exhibitions. My first ever map sculpture, Carcass (1993), was exhibited in Brick Lane in 1994 in the Rear Window exhibition City of Dreadful Night, which occupied the basement of the Trueman Brewery bottling plant. I have also recently completed a map sculpture depicting the East End, My Beating Heart (2007), which was commissioned by collectors who live in the area.
The principal production costs for the Downriver sculpture concept arise from the three-dimensional CAD modelling, the construction of the metalwork, the structural engineering consultation and the site works. The build concept takes into account the scope of this prize and is achievable within the overall budget available.
A note on copyright Downriver appropriates an image from a map that is in copyright. The appropriation of an existing design or drawing, with regard to copyright, falls under the definition of quotation. In order for the use of such an image to create a new copyright for the appropriating artist, the new work must pass the UK law's originality test. This requires that the appropriating artist ‘adds substantially more of their own independent skill and labour' for the viewer to see than remains to be seen of the original work. As a matter of courtesy, I will seek permission to use the map image from the Association of Train Operating Companies and Transport for London, who own the map copyright.
Jonathan Parsons, August 2009