SABINE JEANNE BIELI: Work in progress

'Between the Years'

2012-01-04T10:03:00.000Z

Leap
(Burned orange juice
on paper)

A new beginning (it is a leap-year by the way), the days becoming lighter.

Time seems to fly, while standing still - life suspended in slow motion, yet flying by.

So am I. There are plans, not fixed. They linger in the atmosphere, like an energy waiting to reveal itself - or to dissolve. - It is nice.

It's these days 'Between the Years' [as one says in German], this time-gap between the lunar and the solar year, the twelve nights after 25 Dec.

Time ...

2011-11-18T11:39:00.001Z

... to watch, listen, smell, read, think

'Silence is the soul's oxygen' CM

Skinned Moon

2011-11-17T16:01:00.000Z

(Post scriptum)

right

rear

front

One of the fledglings made in September (see last post).

Thin silk threads, dark-blue, with a white half moon and a hollow spherical shape at the bottom. It's hard to capture as photo ;-(
[click images to see better]

Shown at Cupola Gallery, Sheffield, this Oct / Nov (Artificial Light) ... and it has found a new home ;-)

'Repotting'

2011-09-19T21:06:00.000+01:00

Dark blue silk 'hair'

I've moved my studio and dug out the screen print equipment I didn't use for ages. All the substances and recipes to make the printing dyes were like waiting to be retrieved.

Made some prints on silk for small 3-D work ... and now my work space looks like at a hairdresser's. Layers of fine silk organza are reduced in matter. It's like sculpting a thin substance.

Thinning out seems to be the motto of the moment: cutting threads out of printed cloth - and taking dead wood out of trees.
Oh, it's a treat to be able again to work in the garden and to climb trees!

A year later

2011-06-19T16:59:00.302+01:00

I've been away for a couple of months on some kind of journey. Last autumn I went to see a GP and came back home a month later, rather small. This doctor took me serious (third time lucky) and much to my surprise sent me to hospital (not so lucky). There eventually it emerged why I had felt like 'riding a bicycle with a flat tire' for some time...

Life as an English patient was new territory to me. All of a sudden I found myself excluded from the world, like a fish in an aquarium, only my fish tank was noisy and hectic 24/7; it was a (cultural) shock. Through the window I could watch the country being submerged by snow, while around me - and within me - all kind of drama took place.

It took a month and high doses of antibiotics to cure me. What I possibly had to learn in hospital - and during subsequent months of convalescence on the continent - was to Let it be.

Thanks for the thoughts and treats I received from friends during this time. They were my lifeline!

Mobile-phone video-sketches (recorded while recovering)

Journey (Triptych) Light shadow

Inversion / Dawn / Reclamation

Once upon a time,

2010-06-19T21:39:00.231+01:00

...in another life, I made this piece. It's woven with hair-thin Nylon, cotton thread and tissue paper. I loved making it, that's maybe why I remember it now - and there's an affinity with the cloud images, see last posts. - By the way I remelted the images of the slide show in last week's post into a video.

Currently I'm making small steps at a snail's pace. Maybe it's time to stop the usual 'agenda forming'. I recall that within the last year I've written numerous proposals and worked towards four or five shows/events which all looked serious. In the end two events materialized, the rest was mirage, except for time and effort ;-(

So, while gathering bits and pieces I hope to sometime find the thread to complete unfinished work. Along the way I'm slimming down the studio and tiding up the website*. And to lift my spirits I read one or the other interview in this online art magazine.

*Aire-Wave (video) and Globe (images)

movement (silent)

2010-06-13T12:08:00.039+01:00

'Continents' of light in a continuous state of flux (150 sec in time lapse).

Watching the clouds...

2010-05-17T12:47:00.008+01:00

... after a pause and a spell of paperwork.

Blue sky

2010-03-20T12:03:00.028Z

Having completed - and displayed - the threaded Fr-Agile Screens I read Daniel Tammet's 'Embracing the Wide Sky'. What struck me was that again the words 'threads' and 'weaving' appear when he ponders on the workings of the mind (or the soul).

Quotes from the book can be read when the mouse hovers over the left (first chapter) and right (last chapter) side of the image.

'New Year'

2010-03-04T18:40:00.065Z

On the last day of February we took Fr-Agile down. Then March came with glorious sunshine, it feels like the start of a New Year. The display of the Spurn piece was planned for 2009, so, my inner clock is lagging behind a bit ...

Fr-Agile at South Square Gallery:
To see more images go to TIME-BASED and click on thumbs.
Photos by Bob Levene

Happy New Year.

Resurfacing

2010-02-12T09:58:00.034Z

It's a week since the completion and Opening Night of Fr-Agile @ South Square Gallery; and it's about two years since our very first visit On Spurn. It's been more or less the start of this blog as well.

So, it took a while to find, create and display Fr-Agile. And often it felt like riding against the wind. Maybe the ever present gusts of Spurn?

After a strenuous installation week - it seems I can be as well prepared as possible, there's always The Unforeseeable creating a whirl - the Opening Night was really nice!

South Square Gallery

2010-02-09T10:08:00.008Z

It's up and running!
Thanks to Jo, Stefan, David and all at S❏Gallery for their help. And Thank you to the Arts Council England and the Humber Mouth Festival for their support.

Close-up screen / Come-back

2010-01-16T12:49:00.015Z

The smaller of the two Fr-Agile screens has been re-installed and fixings improved. And at the same time - magically - the second projector arrived. So, here's some more documentation, captured with small camera:

More of the same here.

Wide-screen: moving on

2009-12-25T18:18:00.011Z

It occupied my studio for about six month. Now it has been packed and stored to move to South Square Gallery next February.

Merry Christmas!

Studio test projections

2009-12-23T16:38:00.024Z

Some test projections using the new projector :-)) recorded with a small camera :-(
The video below is a taster - with sample footage not yet cut to fit the screen. Reality looks definitely better.

More views of seascape projections ["What you see depends on where you stand."]

Projectors

2009-12-14T12:30:00.019Z

Spent some time looking for projectors to fit Fr-Agile (and budget) and updating my vocabulary with the technical terms involved. Then I found that the chosen model is available in the US only: start again from square one.

Once the European models have been chosen ordering proved to be another adventure. When Next day delivery doesn't materialize 'Out of stock' is a reoccurring explanation... Yet I'm hopeful that in the near future the postman will ring and bring some nice parcels - not for Christmas. Meanwhile I've amended the floor plan again to fit the throw-ratios of the ordered projectors.

Southsquare Gallery

2009-11-12T11:15:00.044Z

A visit to Southsquare gallery in Thornton where finally two time-based sculptures [Fr-Agile: projection on wide-screen and close-up-screen] will have a debut in February 2010. Hurray ;-)

Larger space, view towards and from the gallery entrance: Things* seem to fall into place:
Amended plan 14 Dec 09

The smaller space with a view to the adjoining larger space

*namely curved screens and projectors

Sounding

2009-09-15T10:06:00.019+01:00

Midsummer Place
Milton Keynes
8 September 2009 8pm

After an intensive 48 hours the piece is installed. It went well - thanks to the good cooperation with all involved, namely technicians Martin, Paul and Ray; and Sally who kept me going.

For a next time I wished to have another set of my hands and eyes assisting me. It can be difficult at times to be in two places at once, especially when you're on a scissor lift four to seven metres above ground.

Video of Sounding with the background noise of a shopping centre as soundtrack. Do they fit together?

Sounding installation

2009-09-12T10:01:00.004+01:00

Sunday, 6 September 2009 (image by Sally)

We started installing Sunday evening as soon as Midsummer was more or less empty, except for Martin and Paul who are licensed to handle the big machine to reach the 20m high glass ceiling, Sally, Gavin and all the kids and - most important - Mrs Smith who, when I went hectic, so helpfully took charge of the sewing machine. [Many Thanks to all of you!!!!!]

Most of the work had to be done during the dark hours. During daytime I prepared bits and pieces in Midsummer's underground world - a strange but genial contrast to the world of the shopping centre above my head.

You can see more images about the installation in a separate album and in the video's below.

7 September 2009, 20:19
Unwinding third bobbin for second band.

7 September 2009, 22:00
Unwinding fourth bobbin for second band

Fathomer and firechecker

2009-08-24T17:29:00.019+01:00

I always wanted to work in an 'open air studio'. Now 'health and safety' issues make it possible.
One of the best joiners in town built a wonderful device to prepare the bobbins that will be unwound in Midsummer Place: Colin's fathomer looks like a giant loom which allows to wind 18 reels simultaneously onto one rod. At the same time the ribbons are 'firechecked': metre by metre is sprayed with a flame retardant fluid, then dried and wound up; a slow process.

Sounding mock-up

2009-07-30T10:07:00.009+01:00

A mock-up of the situation at Midsummer place on a scale 1:10 using 25mm ribbon - so in this respect not quite to scale - 4mm would have been 'correct'. Also, no skylights here. Nevertheless this exercise helps to find out about angles and proportions.

Sounding and Fathoms

2009-07-28T10:13:00.013+01:00

'Sounding fathoms out the height of the space'. It is the human scale that interests me in this vast space (Midsummer place).
Both bands will be one Fathom wide and composed of 36 ribbons. So, each ribbon will occupy half a 'Handbreadth' or two inches.

Image: Vitruvian Man by Da Vinci (source)

A Fathom is a unit of length used to measure the depth of water or the length of a nautical rope or cable, equal to 6 ft (1.8288 m)

Verb
1. to measure the depth of; sound
2. to get to the bottom of; understand thoroughly

Etymology
ME fadme fæthm (akin to OFris fethm, OS pl. fathmōs), the two arms outstretched (to embrace, measure), akin to German faden, thread
From: www.yourdictionary.com

Sounding

2009-07-21T11:18:00.004+01:00

Trying to mount a span of about 20 metres of 40mm and 25mm ribbon. The first attempt in the afternoon felt rather like experiments in kite flying - too windy to span and fix the bottom bit into our lawn...

But then around 9pm the air was still, so conditions were more fortunate and I was allowed to take some dusky images.

Amended plan

2009-07-20T09:29:00.016+01:00

Further theoretical experiments for the sea-scape screen assuming that a lens with a throw-ratio of 1.2 would be used. This would allow for the projector to be closer to the screen - if floor based - or else to be ceiling mounted.

Sounding

2009-07-16T15:35:00.006+01:00

Meanwhile I've tested a royal blue ribbon, held against the light the blue looks almost fluorescent (which is hard to capture with a camera).

The material weighs about 223g/m2, so, a band of 1.8m x 30m would be about 10-12kg. Added to this will be the pull needed to keep the bands straight. Made of polyester this ribbon is strong and has little elasticity. Yet when I spanned a length of six metres I found that it was quite flexible which is good. Little effort was needed to straighten it.

I made a small sample-band - not to scale - composed of 6mm ribbons. Each band is twisted by 180 degrees, as if going with the movement of the sun. So the light is caught differently - which would show better using a wider ribbon.

This seduced me to order a bit more Grosgrain - enough to make some bigger samples.

Light cones

2009-07-14T11:48:00.032+01:00

Have been experimenting further with projectors and settings. This helped me to understand that the projectors and their cone of light will be part of the sculpture very much. So, the three dimensions of the screens determine which lens will be appropriate.

I've been offered to show Fr-Agile at Southsquare gallery next February. Below is a sketch how screens, projectors and light cones might fit in there.

Close-up screen: throw ratio 1.5 - 1.95 (aspect ratio 4:3) / Seascape-screen: 6.05m/3.65m=1.65 => throw ratio 1.5 - 1.7 (aspect ratio 16:9)

Fringe Festival 09 Milton Keynes

2009-07-10T17:02:00.008+01:00

It looks like a proposed piece, Sounding, a site-specific piece for Midsummer place in Milton Keynes commissioned by FringeMK 2009, can go ahead. So, I've started looking for materials to build this installation which will be a new challenge size-wise.

Test projections

2009-06-27T21:42:00.020+01:00

Projection-tests with some video footage Jo had prepared. The size of the studio space forced me to project from the hall outside the studio through the door to get a reasonable distance to the screen. So, the set-up isn't as planned but nevertheless gives a taste of what it will look like.

2009-06-22T12:57:00.023+01:00

The last band is released and fixed at the bottom.

The second half

2009-06-18T10:42:00.013+01:00

Joining the two parts of the screen is a tricky step which I dread a bit. After some hiccups I'm forced to take things slowly. And finally... step by step it all seems to take shape.

Half-time

2009-06-05T12:21:00.043+01:00

[Seascape screen ]
Spider's job: The first half of the screen is completed.
View from behind the screen

Seascape screen

2009-06-01T12:42:00.034+01:00

This screen is composed of 30 silk threads per inch which contract to about 55 tpi because of the twisted shape.
Currently I'm fixing three of the six bands needed. It takes quite a while to adjust the threads' tension and the density at the bottom. Lots of tiny movements, but after a day I feel as tired as if I'd really worked... Yet - I had a visit from a small assistant, probably interested in helping me: a spider (can you see it on the image?).

Screen #2

2009-05-18T09:56:00.003+01:00

...on it's way.

Seascape screen

2009-05-06T15:09:00.011+01:00

Outline:
4m x 2m x 3m (w x h x d)
Both beams - floor and wall - are about 3m long.

Puzzled

2009-05-04T18:25:00.027+01:00

My work is not always that straightforward... Often I feel like climbing a mountain face, a balancing act of finding the right materials and working out the technique to match and express the thoughts within a piece.

Over the past couple of weeks I also learned that ~~I need to amend my understanding of language~~ things sometimes go another way than expected ... It's quite funny as long as you're not involved. Here are just two examples.

About a shortlisted submission: "We are keen to show your piece in our gallery" expressed on Monday and Tuesday, followed by silence on Wednesday means on Friday: "We have excluded your piece from the schedule". How comes? Nobody knows, it's a mystery.

Or a planned solo show: "We will go ahead with your show in any case" may morph into: " Actually... our finances don't allow us at all to go ahead with a non-commercial show".

So, having digested these news the red piece (see posts 24 March 09 - 15 April 09) has been stored for a moment. And screen #2 is approaching its materialization.

Coastal erosion

2009-05-02T11:33:00.011+01:00

A sort of installation or rather destallation(?):
Recently we walked along the beach near Withernsea which is a bit further North from Spurn on the Holderness coast. The sea continues to eat into the cliffs and the barbed wire which once marked the cliff edge is now suspended in mid air along with the fixing poles. Some of the eroded material is swept further south where it will build up Spurn peninsula. See also: Spurn cycles

First layers

2009-04-15T15:20:00.002+01:00

The first four layers of the floating red block (see sketch) have been fixed.

Preparations for new work

2009-03-30T18:44:00.005+01:00

Over the last couple of days I was sort of an industrialised woodworm: drilling 10000 holes into two boards. As Stefan quickly calculated all these holes amount to a length of about 100 metres. No wonder I had to change the drill bit from time to time.

Sketch of new work

2009-03-24T18:38:00.007Z

Suspended brilliant red Mohair threads form a floating brick shaped body.
1.2m x 2.7m x 1.2m

Close-up screen

2009-03-11T14:05:00.012Z

It's done.
In a strange way the polyester thread and the fringes at the right edge remind me of the water- foam and the threaded polystyrene I observed at the start of the On Spurn residency a year ago (see post of 7 April '08).

Threaded screen / part three

2009-03-09T18:42:00.001Z

Nearly there - learning by doing.

Threaded screen / first part

2009-03-04T13:54:00.002Z

Ready to go. The challenge is to keep the density and tension of the threads evenly. Also, the material is extremly slippery and difficult to knot.

Warp for close-up screen

2009-03-02T11:57:00.001Z

The screen will be made of a shiny white polyester embroidery thread, 60 tpi (threads per inch).

It's happened again: the miracle that hundreds of fine threads (1300), one after the other, found their place on the loom, the tool to organize this all. Sometime while handling the warp it all looks very muddled...but then it worked again.

Close-up screen

2009-02-27T20:44:00.014Z

A 1:1 outline of the screen for projections of close-ups. While working on this I realize that the shape of the screen isn't only 'defined' by the proportions of the image (video). The waves back then in August '08 came from east, so they move from left to right in the image. The shape of the screen has to go with this movement.

Humber Mouth

2009-02-26T18:42:00.007Z

I received a Humber Mouth special commission 2009 award to show one or the other of the FR-AGILE screens at the literature festival in Hull in June this year. This is wonderful because now I can start to complete the screens in full size.

Sounding

2009-02-21T12:11:00.045Z

A site-specific installation commissioned by FRINGEMK 2009. Sounding will be displayed in Midsummer Place in Milton Keynes from September '09.

Midsummer-Place is a building approximately 20 m high featuring a wave form roof which spans a concourse of about 60m x 90m between the old and new part of the shopping centre. Daylight enters through five skylights of about 4m x 20m and through the two glass façades towards Midsummer Boulevard. The roof is supported by 48 crossbeams which rest on two rows of pillars, six to support the low part of the roof and six for the high part. A couple of trees and the odd bird join the congregation of shoppers among the cafes and food stores within the building.

Once inside the building it is difficult to grasp the vastness of the space. The huge volume above the retail area is filled with light and air but there is little to guide the eye. I was surprised to find that each of the 52 tiny looking glass panels which compose one single skylight must be about 1m x 1.5m. The following proposal relates to the height of Midsummer Place and to the way light illuminates it.

SOUNDING
Material: royal blue man-made string with a silky sheen
Dimensions: One or two bands, approx. 30 - 40m x 1.8m (1 fathom)

Near the west entrance one or two threaded bands will span between high points of the skylight and roof supports, similar to stretches of warp taken from a loom. The bands will twist slightly while keeping their width of one fathom from top to bottom. Sounding fathoms out the height of the space and ‘puts it into perspective’.

Sounding will be composed of man-made thread which captures and reflects the light. Depending on the onlookers position the shade, shape and transparency of the piece will change.

Seascape projection @ Cupola

2009-02-12T21:10:00.023Z

Over the past couple of weeks I've been glued more or less to my desk writing proposals and applications. And now I really look forward to making something real!

Possibly one of the Fr-Agile screens will have a home for one month at Cupola Gallery in Sheffield next July. Below is a plan how it will sit in the space.

View from projector fixed underneath ceiling

Looking back

2008-11-23T18:57:00.113Z

On a more quiet note, Jo and I have been to Spurn to say good bye for now.

...like a body

2008-11-23T10:43:00.005Z

Ten days ago, when we had a test projection on the 1:3 maquettes of the threaded screens, a friend said: 'this looks like a body'. He was talking about the yellow buoy being tossed about in the video.

This comment brought back the vehemence of the sea as I had felt it during the performance. And again it brought to mind the book I had read about the history of the Spurn Lifeboat Station, the first one hundred years. (see: Books about Spurn)

Or rather, I recalled some of the countless tales that describe the life and drama of the lifeboat families at Spurn Point 100 to 200 years ago. - And in the light of these stories the buoys slightly seemed to shift their hue and meaning.

(Extract from Spurn notebook)

Images: Jo Millett

Wide Screen

2008-11-18T18:58:00.025Z

Another test to project the Fr-agile footage of the whole scenery (click here to see projection of close-ups). The curved screen consists of about 25 threads /inch and is composed of different materials to find out which threads work best.

Maquette 120 x 120 x 70cm (1:3) of wide screen
.................................................................................

View from right hand side

Fr-agile / wide screen 2 from Onspurn Artist on Vimeo.

Another screen

2008-11-03T16:39:00.024Z

A screen stretching between floor and wall (as in post of 10 Sept 08) seems to be good to project close-ups. So, I've been working to find a shape to project some footage of the whole of the scenery.

Currently I'm building such a 'wide-screen', about 1:3 in scale, as well as a new close-up screen.

Screen test

2008-09-10T18:10:00.040+01:00

1600 silk threads stretched between floor and wall form a curved screen (about 2 x 3 feet) onto which we - Jo and I - project the Fr-agile footage (see posts 14 August 2008).

Below a short sequence of a close-up taken during our experimental session.

Test screen

2008-09-05T16:04:00.017+01:00

Working out possible proportions and shapes for a threaded screen. The warp is still on the loom but ready to be cut and transformed.

Taking up the thread

2008-08-19T18:40:00.005+01:00

There are plans to project Jo's video footage of Fr-agile onto a gently curved screen - similar to the shadows cast on Aire - Wave.
For 1 1/2 years this warp is waiting on my loom to be used for maquettes I started to make... was it waiting to be tested as a screen?

Fr-Agile

2008-08-14T15:16:00.079+01:00

Performance [morning]

Friday, 8 August. I leave the Warren Cottage after 4am. It is dark and windy and rain is pouring down on me. By the time I reach the blocks I know that my clothes - supposed to be weather-proof - aren't waterproof at all.

By 5am I have tied the yellow blocks to the fixings prepared the previous day.

The yellow glows in the twilight and when the rain stops the changing light makes me forget that I am wet to the skin.

The plan was to start filming at 6am when the water reached the blocks. However at six a thick cloud was shedding its cargo again into the wind. No good conditions for Jo's precious video camera... Sheltered in the car we waited for better times.

Finally, by 7:30 filming started. The northeasterly wind brought in the tide fast.

Agitated North Sea - and bitterly cold air in mid summer.

40 minutes later all the defence blocks had almost disappeared.

And within the next hour - while the light and atmosphere were changing constantly - all the yellow blocks, one by one, swam ashore.

Stranded

2008-08-14T15:15:00.034+01:00

[midday]

The Silicone tubing which connected the 'yellow dots' with their concrete counterparts is very pull resistant and elastic. Yet the power of the waves, colliding with the defense blocks and the embedded metal bits, cut through the cords leaving the buoys stranded - like the longshore drift from the Holderness Coast that builds Spurn over time.

Sea-drawings

2008-08-14T15:13:00.035+01:00

[afternoon]

In the afternoon after the tide receded: The tubes were so flexible and light, they moved easily with the waves. The Sea created knots and plaits and drawings.

Building buoys

2008-08-04T17:39:00.039+01:00

The floating blocks are almost ready. My old sewing machine did her job and I'm thankful she didn't leave me in the lurch. Now we just have to drink one more bottle of Volvic. Then I can do the last bit.

Yesterday evening I did a bit of 'project management'. Stefan's prophecy is that everything will be different ... however the three days we are planning to stay on Spurn to me will be pretty much defined by the tides and when the sea gives the defence blocks free. It is first quarter moon, so the tides are moderate - just four metres difference between high and low tide. At full or new moon it can be up to 7m.

The red line in the tide table shows when about the defence blocks are accessible without me being swept away. If all goes well and the weather cooperates Jo will be recording the movement of the Yellow in the rising tide next Friday early in the morning.

Today I gathered all the bits and pieces such as tools, nuts and bolts, ropes. As usual everything takes longer than planned. And the question remains: what did I forget?

Buoys

2008-07-29T15:41:00.026+01:00

Almost all materials I need to build some floating buoys have now been delivered. For example high visibility fabric, ropes, silicon tubing (the kind of tubes often used in hospitals for all types of fluids) and empty water bottles. So, towards the end of this week I will be able to actually build the floats. They will represent some of the yellow dots in the map about Shifting Spurn.

In order to find out the right size for these swimming devices I marked them into an image. - This is the way to do it when you haven't got a car to quickly drive to Spurn.

Rising tide

2008-07-22T12:39:00.032+01:00

We walked to neck where the sea defence blocks are. The concrete blocks in the images below have been anti-tank blocks. Now they defend Spurn against the sea.

We arrived shortly after low tide and stayed until it was almost high tide. The rising tide was a stunning performance. The waves came in with enormous force to then collide with the blocks. Three days after full moon, this was a strong tide. - When we left after 6pm most of the blocks were submerged and the water level was still rising.

I had prepared some floats to try out another time but had them with me. They looked just ridiculous … far too small and not appropriate. So, I’ve changed and adapted my idea. It’s become simpler. And the materials I’d like to use will be stronger.

Putting things right

2008-07-22T11:38:00.011+01:00

We've been to Spurn last Sunday, Jo, Stefan and I. Finally an almost dry day after a rainy period. First we met Andrew Gibson and I learned that Spurn neck was never breached - as it said in my blog - but only washed-over! The breach was further south where the chalk bank is. I've changed these posts (About Spurn) and am glad this has been put right.

Books about Spurn

2008-07-17T19:28:00.019+01:00

• Spurn Lifeboat Station, the first hundred years: the history of Spurn Lifeboat Station from 1810 to May 1911 / Benfell, Roy
• Memories of Spurn in the 1880's / Jarratt, George
• The people along the sand: the Spurn Peninsula and Kilnsea, a history 1800-2000 / Crowther, Jan
• Sailing the rails: a new history of Spurn and its military railway Frost, Howard M.
• A history of the Spurn lighthouses De Boer, G.
• Spurn Head postal history / Ward, Ronald
• Growing up on Spurn Head / Kendall, Ronald
• The Spurn Head Railway: the history of a unique military line 3rd ed. Hartley, Kenneth E.
• An historical atlas of East Yorkshire / Neave, Susan

Shifting Spurn

2008-07-08T14:30:00.072+01:00

I had a closer look at an aerial view of Spurn's 'neck' - the area where the sea defence blocks are. I compared it with the same section of the 1852 map (From: Dept. of Geography University of Hull) and tweaked the two maps to the same scale. The image shows the maps overlaid. See the enlarged version.

The full yellow line shows what remains of the Spurn peninsula at an "ordinary spring tide" in 1852. The dashed yellow line running vertically through the middle of the image roughly outlines the former shore of Spurn towards the Humber - a strip of sand and shingles. On the enlarged version of the image you can see that the group of sea defence blocks are positioned between these two yellow lines. So, the defence blocks spreading along the seaside today in this area happen to outline the riverside of Spurn in the 1850's.

I'm thinking of the static blocks of stone - meant to protect against the dynamic forces of wind, weather and waves - and the shifting landscape. Taking these aspects into account I'd like to mark a stretch of the defence blocks which by chance outline some of the 1852 Spurn. I will need to have another look at the real Spurn - the tides in this area and the actual blocks.

Another look at the sea defences

2008-07-02T18:57:00.032+01:00

While the tide was receding last Thursday we walked along the sea side. I continued to have another look at the sea defence blocks. They are positioned at the neck of Spurn - the most vulnerable part of the spit I think. The images are views from the same spot towards south and north.
The image below shows an aerial view of the scene. Interestingly the old road is marked as it must have been before it was washed away. Now it would lead into the sand and towards the sea. (The almost continous line of blocks on the beach are the remains of the road that has been swept away.)

Click here to see a larger section.

Tides at the tip of Spurn

2008-06-30T21:08:00.041+01:00

Last Thursday we - Jo and I - went to Spurn for a day. I wanted to find out more about the movements of the tides at the tip of the peninsula.

First I felt confused whether we were really at the tip. Instead of the open sea - as I expected - there was a strip of land at the horizon. It's not easy to orientate yourself when there's water all around you.

A look at the OS map shows that Spurn points straight towards the opposite shore of the Humber - a fact I wasn't aware of previously...

I marked the line where high tide left some debris at about 11:10 with a flag. Another flag marked the edge of the water when we arrived at 13:10.

I came back 4 hours later after a walk - almost at low tide. I measured in steps how much the water had receded from high to low tide. It must have been almost 60m. And according to the tide table the water level receded by about 4.4 meters in height.

The dark cloud in the image threw water at me horizontally when I walked back to Jo who was waiting for me in the car. I arrived there soaking wet - luckily only at my backside.

Present Spurn

2008-06-11T11:31:00.007+01:00

The present peninsula started to form around 1600. In 1849 a storm breached Spurn (see strip12 on the map below) and "the peninsula became a string of islands" at high tide.
From the 1850’s onwards sea defences kept Spurn artificially in the same position. During the World wars it became a military stronghold - a reason to further upgrade the sea defences.
In 1961 the Ministry of Defence sold Spurn to the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust. The trust now runs the area as a nature reserve. The sea defences are left to deteriorate and the natural process can take over again. - Today erosion continues to eat into Spurn. At spring tide wash-overs of the neck occur from time to time.
(amended 21 July)

The map above (here is a detailed version / 940 kB) shows coastal changes around Spurn over the last 150 years. It combines 1st edition OS maps (1851/52) with recent aerial photographs (c Getmapping 2000).
From: www.hull.ac.uk/erosion

I found this info in the following files:
Development of Spurn Peninsula
The Holderness Coastline - The Management of Coastal Erosion
SPURN HEAD by V.J. May

Spurn cycles

2008-06-11T10:37:00.089+01:00

Earlier on I mentioned that I’m looking into the phases of the moon and the rhythm of the tides at Spurn. Now I found out that not only the moon is waxing and waning but that Spurn is cyclic as well: "[Spurn] is a fluid feature, it is thought to undergo a life cycle of some 250 years, during which it gets destroyed, is reborn some metres further westward, stabilises, and then is destroyed again."

The story in more detail: Spurn is built by the sands and gravels eroded from the Holderness cliffs. These cliffs north of the peninsula recede about 2 meters per year. The eroded material is transported south by longshore drift. It forms a spit in lee with the coast line.
Later, when the north easterly waves eat further into the coast, Spurn itself becomes exposed and prone to erosion. It seems that the peninsula has been washed away in a cycle of about 250 years. It then reformed west of its former position to keep pace with the erosion of the cliffs.

Another more recent theory by the Institute of Estuarine and Coastal Studies suggests that only the link to the Holderness coast has changed. The tip of Spurn Point is anchored to glacial moraines dumped after the last ice age. So, it should be stable.*

Who knows? Probably Spurn will keep some of its secrets.
(amended 21 July)

*From: 'Sailing the Rails' by H. M. Frost

Another trial

2008-05-28T18:21:00.056+01:00

I replaced the threaded polystyrene balls (see "Watching the tides") with another foam like substance: popcorn - a biodegradable form of polystyrene I thought.

At low tide (2:22pm) the sea looked very quiet. At about 3pm I marked the edge of the water with two sticks: to hold the thread and mark the water level (image 1).

The tide started to come in again and the waves showed their full power: image 2 and 3. The threaded popcorn looked nothing but fragile - it jammed and was torn apart.

After about forty minutes the water level was high enough to submerge the sticks - a last bit of the floating thread still swimming with the waves: image 4. It will eventually get loose and float away.

I got a big laugh for this from my companion. - Well... this is how my work develops.

Drawn by the wind

2008-05-24T15:34:00.043+01:00

Drawings in the sands of Spurn made by wind and water. (Negatives)

Caterpillars

2008-05-24T15:00:00.014+01:00

A friend from Leeds, Max, came over to Hull and together we visited Spurn yesterday.
The sand at the Point was full of caterpillars. Some of them were on the edge of the water and seemed to be keen to get into it. Others tried to climb a sandy slope and reach the grass above. Max filmed their Sisyphus-like struggle. It was a pointless task: when we looked again 3½ hours later they were still at the same spot but didn't move anymore... Though they left their mark - on the skin of my neck. Some of their tiny poisonous hairs must have been flying about. They can cause rashes. They did and it itches.

More about caterpillars on Spurn or here's a video.
Images of: Brown Tail Moth & caterpillar

Cotidal lines in the North Sea

2008-05-07T12:23:00.022+01:00

Also in April I read a book about how lunar cycles influence living organisms: "Moon Rhythms in Nature" by K-P Endres & W Schad. There I found this map which shows how tidal waves in the North Sea move counterclockwise in circles. High tide runs along the east coast from Edinburgh to Bridlington. An hour later it arrives on Spurn to then turn eastwards to another continent - to the shores of Holland, Germany and Denmark - da capo al fine.

It's rainy

2008-05-05T11:08:00.030+01:00

April provided excellent weather to stay inside and read. For instance some articles about climatic change in a German scientific journal (Forschung & Lehre 2/07). The texts are written in a sober style which I found good to read. I remember hearing some of this some twenty years ago in a physics lecture. One writer compares the task ahead of us with tiding the Augean Stables or rather that the Augean Stables are a perfume shop compared with what lies ahead of us.
I think there is a social aspect in all of this as well. It has something to do with the rapid technological development over the past 100 to 150 years and that humans - morally and emotionally - are barely able to keep pace. "The problem is not the atom bomb, but the heart of the people" Einstein said.

In a dialogue with F Mennekes Beuys states:
"[…] The only thing that is worth elevating is the human soul. I now mean “soul” in the extensive way[...] not only emotional life, but also the powers of realization, the capability of thought, intuition, inspiration, I-consciousness, and the power of the will. All these are phenomena which have been seriously damaged in our day.* They must be saved. Consequently, everything else is saved anyway. Without these very thoughts it makes no sense so to say, to try and grow better potatoes."
Beuys on Christ. A Position in Dialogue / Friedhelm Mennekes - Joseph Beuys (1984)

*Ralph Turner calls it "anaesthetised society" when writing about Julie Cook's work.

Earth and Moon

2008-04-21T15:41:00.019+01:00

I'm looking at the rhythm of the tides at Spurn (EasyTide) and try to find out how they relate to the movement of the moon - recalling how earth, moon and sun relate to each other.

Earth as if seen from the Moon and .............vice versa (from Hull/UK)

15 April 2008 at 21h45: The waxing moon in its meridian (45.6°). At this time it is low tide on Spurn. - Seen from the moon the blue planet appears like a negative mirror image of its natural satellite. (View of Earth from the Moon)

Lifeboat

2008-04-09T11:07:00.045+01:00

Just read some articles about the Spurn lifeboat crew:
Watching, waiting, washing up... (Guardian, 5 April 2008)

It strikes a chord deep within me - my time as a youngster - [...] being 'on standby' and alert... while living on a kind of island.

Another article by the Yorkshire Post, 22 March 2008
Family life at the point of no return

(Extract from Spurn notebook)

Sea defences along the North Sea side

2008-04-07T15:59:00.011+01:00

Man-made intervention shaped by the sea, wind and weather: Blocks of stones combined with parts of rusty metal and wooden poles (near the horizon) form sculptures such as this 'Steal-seal'
The water level rose about 3/4 meters within 3/4 hours. It will rise a further 2.5m and cover the blocks completely.

Humber side

2008-04-07T15:43:00.003+01:00

In the afternoon - sitting on the quiet side of the waters. Time to reflect.

Watching the tides - North Sea side

2008-04-07T15:13:00.018+01:00

..................................................

I spent a morning looking at the ebb and flow of the water and the foam produced by air and water mixing. This was at the time when the tide was going out.

Later I join threaded polystyrene balls to the scene. The ends of the thread are fixed to stones, so the balls can't escape.

The stringed balls float off as if they were part of the water-foam. For about an hour I watch the water recede. Its movement changes with the shape of the ground and the foam disappears gradually - together with the balls...!

Minutes later - it seems like an eternity - when the water has receded further, I spot one ball hiding among the shingle. The rest of the balls - still threaded - are buried up to one foot underground following the lead of the stone the thread was fixed to.

By the way: Polystyrene consists 98% of air, is fully recyclable and environmental friendly though it isn't biodegradable. Microscopic images of this material look very similar to the sea water foam I'm just looking at.

On Spurn

2008-04-07T14:00:00.005+01:00

'On Spurn' is a research residency for six artists (see Events). We spent a mid-week-end on Spurn to initiate our venture. It was cold, windy, sunny, wet and beautiful.

During the residency I would like to look at the movement of wind and water which shape Spurn. Using threads (yes, again) I plan to create air and water drawings. We'll see what happens. For now it is just looking and listening.

From Book to Book

2008-03-10T17:27:00.017Z

Stefan and I went to the Artists' Book Fair in Leeds on Saturday. From there we went on to Leeds Art Gallery to see "From Book to Book". The images show rather quiet moments. Otherwise the exhibition situated in the main entrance gallery was very busy. It seems people enjoyed browsing and touching the book-works. So did we!

Wordscape

2008-03-01T16:48:00.019Z

In February I spent some more time to compose a documentation about Wordscape. The documentation is based on a talk I gave in December 2007 at Wakefield Art Gallery. It describes the landscape and architecture which features in Wordscape as I saw it on walks through Wakefield. A printed copy of these pages may be available at Wakefield Art Gallery or Click here to see a PDF version.