Art/science project takes off

Pigeon Point Cloud (2013) Working digital drawing which depicts positions logged during the 30-minute flight of a single pigeon in relation to a base level. Points cluster where the bird returned to and rested on two rooftops.

I'm very pleased to announce that I've been awarded a grant by Arts Council England for my research project Solid Air. Working with scientists and technical experts, I'll be exploring how to recreate the flight paths of birds as fixed three-dimensional objects.

My key collaborator is Dr Steven Portugal of the Royal Veterinary College's Structure & Motion Lab. I'll be visualising high-resolution data collected as part of his post-doctoral research into the aerodynamics of flocking birds. The data, which is gathered by  free-flying birds carrying highly sophisticated data loggers, is first transcribed into digital models before being made into physical models. Accurate physical rendering of such complex data is only possible through the new technology of laser sintering (also known as rapid prototyping or 3D printing).

The project grows from my long-standing interest in recording bird flight paths as a way of examining processes of transcription and interpretation, revealing the slipperiness of 'the real' when subjected to scientific scrutiny. 

It also builds on my work last year as part of the Exeter Phoenix Digital Art Commission 2012, which gave me my first opportunity to work with laser sintering to visualise flight paths in three dimensions. For that first test piece The Geometry of Air, I worked with GPS data from human glider pilots (who, like birds, use thermals and wind currents to shape their flights).

Now, thanks to the Structure & Motion Lab, I have access to a source of incredibly high resolution data generated by a range of birds including pigeons, ibis and raptors. Working with a programmer and 3D printing experts, I'll be looking at different ways of visualising this unique data. I'll also be taking time to reflect on the critical and theoretical context of the work, including what it means to translate natural flight into synthesised objects.