Space time investigation

Study of Space and Time 2016 – 2017

The Grid

‘My paintings have neither objects nor space nor time nor anything – no forms. They are light, lightness, about merging, about formlessness, breaking down form.’ Agnes Marin, 1966 (about her grids)

Grid = repetition = duration = now = timelessness = formlessness = breaking down form = nothingness = lightness = ground = 0

Grid as generator of form

The grid is a regular, calibrated system, a matrix that defines positioning, as well as measurements of objects and people. It holds potential.

It allows for measurements and defines form: Labour + Matter + Time =  Form (3D) in Space (existence defined by coordinates on grid).

2D photogrammetry of a skull

Time Mapping

A repeated gesture that leaves a trace over time takes up space: Time passing (Duration) + energy (gesture/labour) + matter (trace) = drawing in space

Duration + labour + trace = form in space

First law of thermodynamic: ‘Rien ne se perd, rien ne se cree, tout se transforme.’

Ref: On Kawara (Today), Tehching Hsieh (Punching the Clock) and Roman Opalka’s Program

Which Coordinates?

This piece depicts the family movements over Christmas week. It is a response to Opalka’s life long work and Tehching Hsieh’s Time Clock piece. He said ‘Every time is different but also the same thing’ (2014): We follow routines, we stick to pathways, we repeat the same steps time and time again mostly over the same ground, like the hands on the face of a clock. We ‘spend’ the time, we mark it and we experience it.

Making

The contour of each journey is traced using Morse code to describe the destination of the trip.

The visual representations of space and time are intertwined with an ambiguity between the numeric representation of dates and time integrated with the diagram of the journey in a topographic presentation.

Each person is represented by a dot. Each photo frame equates to a Morse code letter.

A total of 725 different frames were captured to resolve this piece, showing the progression of each journey and the gathering of people.

The steps evoked by the Morse code mark the passing of time at the selected rate of the animation, as would a metronome.

Spacetime Investigation 2015 – 16

This work samples a selection of my research between 2015 and 2016

The many sources and complexity of information relating to the concept of spacetime are overwhelming… Here, I illustrate my struggle and confusion in assimilating the information and making sense of such an intangible and complicated concept.

Whilst the black canvas and white writing evoke the traditional blackboard and chalk Einstein often worked with, they also allude to the visual representation of starlight in the universe and of the concept of spacetime (white lines on a black background).

Working out Spacetime, 2016, Acrylic on canvas 80cm x 80cm
This work underscores how the laws of physics, which apply to our life on Earth, are redundant on a cosmic scale, where space and time become intertwined and observer dependent. The cogs are mostly tied up. A hand is rotating but there are no numbers to mark time. One clock’s face is distorted to expose warped time. Another face presents a tunnel of lights that seem to recede towards an infinite vanishing point. Religions are evoked, referring to our differing beliefs over creation and fate, whilst Mickey Mouse might be as relevant a factor for others. NB: An Analemma describes the sun's positions in relation to Earth over the course of one year. It also evokes the ancestral way of reading time or charting spatial position. Sundials, clocks and compass were subsequently invented to measure time and location more conveniently and finally the GMT was established to synchronise our world.
Wormhole representation, 2016 Solar Fast process on paper

An Analemma describes the sun’s positions in relation to Earth over the course of one year. It also evokes the ancestral way of reading time or charting spatial position. Sundials, clocks and compass were subsequently invented to measure time and location more conveniently and finally the GMT was established to synchronise our world.