The mechancial versus the magical

Flight data 1ame7c21 - GPS co-ordinates on paper roll (2013)

I've been installing work for ' Drawn Together' at the Musgrove Park Hospital in Taunton. Curated by Sara Dudman, this show brings together a number of approaches to drawing which have a technical or mechanical orientation, from architectural sketches and CAD drawings to botanical illustration and hand-drawn process pieces.

I'm showing my prototype 3D printed flight The Geometry of Air, which is concerned with the transition of a durational, ephemeral drawing in space (a glider flight) to a tangible, fixed object.

The Musgrove Gallery is a great space because of the diversity of its audience and its incredible footfall, but it does require work to be a little more explanatory and accessible. So I've taken it as an opportunity to include an aerial view of the location of the glider flight, the complete GPS data set on a roll (which creates its own beautiful, rhythmic pattern on the paper), the digital working drawing, and the 3D print itself.

I'm always wary of explaining too much and leaving no room for the audience to think or wonder. Explanation can crowd out the magical ability of art to make new and intuitive connections. At the same time, I'm entranced by the process of making images and models from numbers and want to share this with an audience.

It's turned out to be an interesting step in relation to my related R&D project Solid Air, as one of the issues I'm thinking about there is how to contextualize and interpret such work for curators and audiences. I've enjoyed this opportunity to push at the rational side of the project, not least because it invites a more oblique approach next time.

'Drawn Together' runs until 11th November 2013 - Musgrove Park Hospital, Taunton, Somerset TA1 5DA  
http://www.artforlife.nhs.uk/