I am currently working with Tom Bedford on the structural issues of the pavilion, specifically how we hold up the dishes over the entrance. I have also been rearranging the supporting posts, with a view to spreading the dishes out a bit, creating a more dynamic spread. These are the latest pictures.
To give the visitors to the exhibition an idea of the actual scale of the stucture, I drew the footprint of the Gabion wall on the paving of the courtyard. Tom Bedford (our stuctural engineer) suggested that we use balloons to indicate the height of the pavilion, so we did.
Yesterday we spent the day setting up the exhibition, lots of very busy people, special thanks to George, Decklan, Matt, Kim, Michael, Dan, Gemma, Holly and Ben along with all the Our Space team and everyone else for all the hard work, the show looks great. Here are some pictures of the preview. The show is on until Saturday 20th Oct.
Here are some new images of the Pavilion in the site. The first two pictures are aerial views, the last two pictures will give you an idea of what it looks like through the windows from the ground and first floor
Met yesterday with Duncan, Marina and Tom Bedford (structural engineer) to discuss the OurSpace pavilion, the meeting was positive and constructive. The project is now moving out of my comfort zone into a wider, deeper space. It’s an exciting moment because up to now the project has occupied territory familiar to me; variations on routes I have already travelled. I now feel challenged by the scale of the structure, not because I can’t do it but because it’s bigger than anything I have made before. I have complete confidence in the team I have around me, which feels good. The potential is here to make a great sculpture/structure for Willingdon Community School.
Research into possible fabrication methods for the discs is my next task. But first I am going to go on holiday…
Yesterday I met with Marina and Duncan to show them the model and plan for the Oct exhibition, very productive - now we have to start talking to engineers and fabricators
My most recent projects have involved working with communities to develop sculptures for public spaces. Information is gathered from groups of individuals connected by location, interests or other factors. The collected information is used to model the structural geometry of the sculptures. The work is from the place, for the place.
The idea behind the Our Space project is of community. What do we mean when we talk about our community? Geography, people, place and common interests, but also more importantly, it refers to a common ‘all’ made up of individuals. Our Space aims to involve ‘all’ of the school community in its process and to represent this community in the resulting artworks.
The resulting artwork is the Our Space Pavilion. It is a round steel structure measuring approximately 5 meters in diameter by 2.8 meters high. The canopy is made up of 15 inverted spun steel round dishes, each dish corresponds with the height and arm span of an individual representative of the Willingdon school community. The smaller lower dishes represent the younger shorter members whilst the larger higher dishes represent the older taller members. The pavilion is a space to be inhabited; it can be a space for quiet contemplation, a social meeting space, or even a venue for a small performance. Sounds will resonate downward from the dishes, reflecting what is going on below and amplifying wind and rain noise. The Our Space Pavilion is due for completion in March 2008.