Water Table

Water Table was formulated to explore the core research question that was part of the original AHRC bid for my 2007 Creative Research Fellowship: ‘In what ways will High Resolution Imaging change the work produced in the convergence of art and visual technologies and consequently, our experience of that work?’ To answer this question I formulated the idea of ‘Quantum Resolution’ which proposed that audience immersion deepens with quantum as opposed to quantitative increases of resolution – that is the effects of deeper immersion would be felt with larger increases of resolution rather than incremental increases of resolution. Initially I formulated 3 practice as research portfolios as differing strategies to uncover the effects (if any) of increased resolution. These three were a) to examine everyday moving images of the world immediately around oneself, b) examine iconic moving images of the world and c) examine human portraiture and by way of this examine ideas around the human gaze. I argued that each work would be a building block in a developing argument to examine my hypothesis and that all of the works would be presented together in a major exhibition as the overall thesis – this occurred in December 2010 in collaboration with University of Westminster in their London P3 Gallery. ‘Water Table’ is the third work of the 1st Portfolio which had as its base idea the representation a substance different from the nature and material of the ubiquitous object it is shown upon (in this case a table made of wood). This work was funded by an AHRC Practice and Applied award for £20,000. The installation itself is a table that can seat 12 people with overhead projection. The intention is to take the ideas created In Other People’s Skins (which seeks to transform the performative nature of a table with the addition of projections of virtual guests to shift the audiences engagement with what appears to be an everyday object into something extraordinary, the development in this case is to transform as if alchemically the nature of the experience. Images of water were gathered as far afield as Cornwall and California and also material artifacts, pebbles from a beach were gathered from as far afield as Turkey and Majorca to present as part of the sculptural nature of the exhibition. These were positioned on the table itself and people were encouraged to play with this element to come into contact with the materiality of the experience. This work was shown at several locations, subsequently I have spoken of the research outcomes in articles and papers at various conferences.