On the evening of October 27th I had the pleasure of chairing a panel discussion, which part of the V&A museum's 'Every Last Drop' edition of its Friday Lates, explored the potentialities of water as artistic medium. Curated by CLOT magazine, our speaker line-up for the evening comprised dutch artist Berndaut Smilde, RCA PhD researcher Wayne Binitie, and Sam Bompas, co-founder of Bompas and Parr​.

Smilde, Binitie, and Bompas each delivered 15-minute presentations in which they discussed the role of water in their artistic works. Smilde, who developed and patented a means of creating temporary cloud formations, presented his world-renown Nimbus Series (see slides and video below), and other projects of a similarly ephemeral nature, including Breaking Light, which was created using a prototype prism that allowed him to "break light at a large scale in order to impose a natural appearance onto its surrounding as a temporary hack in the landscape". Binitie presented both audio and visual works, including the outputs of his collaboration with the British Antarctic Survey, which examines the temporal nature of Earth's polar habitats, as well as earlier projects including the One Aldwych Pool Suite. Bompas presented a selection of past works including temporal solid, liquid, and atmospheric water-based structures, thereon, with the aid of an assistant, delivered a live-experiment in the form of the creation of a taste cloud (see slides).

Recurrent themes throughout the panel discussion that followed included the immaterial and transient nature of new and emerging artistic innovations; water-based art as a medium for public engagement in environmental discussions and debates; temporary elemental artistic expressions of the past, present, and possible future; and scalability of water-based solid, liquid and atmospheric visual and audio works and the opportunities and challenges inherent in the process of their creation.

Many thanks to the V&A museum for their flawless hosting the event, and to CLOT magazine for bringing together such a thought-provoking panel. 

Save the Date: November 9th 2017 :: Monument Masterclass :: An Evening with 5x15

Atop one of the best vantage points in London, The Monument, historian and author, Dr. Matthew Green and I will be uniting past, present, and future, as we round off the Monument Masterclasses series in an event curated by renowned literary salon, 5x15.

Exploring the theme of the evolving relationship between nature and the built environment, we'll be taking inspiration from "a constantly changing city skyline", which is "still shaped by the lasting impact of the Great Fire of London in 1666". 

The Monument was designed by Sir Christopher Wren between 1671-1677 in commemoration of the Great Fire of London. Standing 202ft high and 202ft from where the fire started in Pudding Lane, it is "the tallest isolated stone column in the world and has been open to visitors for over 300 years".

Those hoping to attend need note the event "space is not suitable for anyone who suffers from vertigo, a fear of heights or a fear of confined spaces". 

Tickets are limited and available at: 
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/monument-masterclasses-an-evening-with-5x15-tickets-37065925180

Save the Date :: October 27th 2017 :: V&A Friday Late :: Every Last Drop.

"The original contemporary late night event", the V&A's Friday Late "celebrates all aspects of contemporary visual culture and design in society, bringing audiences face-to-face with leading and emerging artists and designers through live performance, film, installation, debate, DJs and late-night exhibition openings". Exploring the theme of water, the forthcoming Friday Late, Every Last Drop will take participants on a journey that examines the manifold facets of "the most abundant material on Earth". From tracing "the spirituality of the Ganges", to uncovering "the impact of industry on China's drowned landscapes" to asking "if algae can break our addiction to plastic and expose what tap water is really comprised of". 

I am delighted to be moderating a roundtable discussion on water as artistic media, which curated by CLOT magazine will feature a line-up comprised visual artist Berndnaut Smilde, artist Wayne Binitie and genre-breaking experience designer Sam Bompass from Bompass and Parr.

Berndnaut Smilde is a dutch artist whose most well-known work is Nimbus series, a project featuring hyper-realistic miniature clouds in unique spaces such as museums, factories, castles and dungeons. Wayne Binitie is an RCA PhD candidate whose research and practice recalibrate the perception of glacial water through audio-visual contemporary art. Sam Bompass is one half of Bompass and Parr, a studio recognised for its otherworldly jelly creations.

Find out more at: https://www.vam.ac.uk/info/friday-late