DAVID JANES
THAT OTHER PLACE –PORTLAND FAIR Application
davidsjanes@mac.com
07971 332187
davidjanesart.com

PROPOSAL

The brief for That Other Place – A Portland Fair immediately suggests two things:

• The artwork should be conceptual. Should suggest the world as we know it and, the speculative world of our imagination.

• The artwork should be interactive and approachable


To demonstrate a real world and an imaginary world, I would use a mirrored surface.

Objects to be interacted with are placed before the mirror.

These are real world objects. The reflections of these objects are notional forms. They exist only inside our minds, formed from light waves bouncing from the object to the mirror to our eye and made into an image inside our brain.

I would suggest using Portland Stone as a central component in the piece.
The relationship between the Isle of Portland and the mainland reflects the relationship between a boat tied to a harbour.
Gravity acting on the rope forms the natural shape of a catenary, or parabola.
This form may be divided between the real world, shown left, made of rocks fixed to the ground as stepping stones, or seats, and the implied existance of an imaginery world, where the reflection causes the form to be completed inside our minds.
A render showing one side of the proposal.
The continued form of the catenary (the mirror has been tinted blue to highlight the reflection in the rendering).
So far this indicates a smooth transition between the two worlds. But what if we wanted to indicate the “twistier, sideways” elements, the “weird echoes 
and alternate histories” mentioned in the brief.

We can introduce and element of disruption in the mirror surface. I would propose adding a corrugated profile to one side of the reflector.
The corrugated surface, like a ripple in water, adds a curious break up of the reflected image. Where the flat surface creates a distance into imaginary space, the rippled reflection causes the parabola to condense and repeat. As though the forms were being dreamt about.
And walking around the circle, you might examine the various vistas and forms created by the rocks,
and how our mind creates spaces and objects that really are not there.
The piece would be placed inside a stone circle, to make it clear you are entering a particular zone.
THOUGHTS ON SITING/COSTINGS

I envisage placing the piece near Portland Bill, in an area of flat grassland, where the land meets the sea, with the elements free to interact with the installation.

Being open to the public without oversight would mean an extra focus on health and safety issues. 

The rocks would need to be anchored in the ground and the mirrors be shatterproof etc. I do not have experience installing work for public access and so would appreciate advice and help on the technical and material aspects.

My working fees are the union standard for artists at £216 per day. Portland stone is available for approximately £100 for a 30 rockery stones. The fabrication of the mirrored piece would be a wood frame with galvanised metal sheets attached. The material costs for this would be approximately £200, plus paint for testing.
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