Basic Systemic Mathematical Prosesses

Richard Sweeney, check his paper work.

Creating mass from a basic mathematical system

Division of the Euclidean plain.

Singing `Say its only a paper boat...`

In the inevitable Welsh rain, The Oriel Myrddin gallery, Carmarthen, in wet south west damp Wales, carried on regardless and held an outdoor beach party to celebrate the opening of the current exhibition.

Because every one loves the gallery, and it is the best place ever to work, we had fun. But, even though I appreciate the chaotic principles behind the weather, and despite the application for divine intervention , it could have not rained for just one more day.

Mary our genius education officer and most wonderful person made some origami boats . I love the mathematics behind childhood craft practices. Division and multiplication with out even considering the Euclidean plain. Paper folding , perfect division. An every day occurrence, performed without premeditation by people every where. Ancient spiritual art as well. I think its this kind of banal but essential ritual that keeps our thought processes as alert and any deep study. Playing is essential even for the very grown up.

Druid`s Cord, Saint Asaph`s Loop

A measurement of spacetime

For more `Druid`s Cord Saint Asaph`s Loop` Flickr pictures click. here

For short documentary films about past installations click here

or here

In its fullest form,the installation is a mixed media installation with performance.

I was very pleased to be selected for the Bath Arts Fringe exhibition. It will be my first show out side of Wales. Initially, I was to have a large dark space for one of my installations that have a DVD projection. Sadly, this was not to be, and after weeks of curatorial indecision and suspense - through no fault of the lovely curator Fiona Cassidy, I was allocated a space in a small room with six other artists. Hence the mightily pared down version of Druid`s Cord.

It works well in its condensed form. The spiritual and physical relationship between the looped DVD , and the eleven feet of crocheted fishing line is still evident. Although it has lost the feeling of envelopement and entity.

There is a moment in the DVD that I find particularly interesting. The screen is empty of the mechanical ,vertiginous image. The lens of the camera reacts with the bright sun on the very clear blue sky, and causes a lens flare that is almost off the top of the screen. That moment, to me , suggests a brief spiritual epiphany that is just within the reach of human endeavour. A tiny glimpse of the pure and ecstatic nature of enlightenment.

Sometimes when I am crocheting and thinking , I experience that feeling... An excitment that cannot be explained or planned. The briefest flicker, a gargantuan vision in a tiny moment. Then it dissappears. I consider myself at these times, very blessed.

On the DVD it lasts only a moment, and then the repetition begins to loop again.

Isotropic Lou-niverse

Recovering slowly from from my sojourn into a personal deep, dark ,black hole, my darling friend Helen suggested a bit of occupational therapy to cheer me up. We spent two blissful days in the sunshine making felt. The un-spun wool, came from the flock of organic no kill sheep that she and her partner keep. (They don't kill the sheep, that is, not the sheep with murderous tendencies, suppressed from killing other things).

Looking most satisfied at the finished pieces, I noticed that the felt had a myriad tiny pieces of countryside shrunken into the fibres. This is unavoidable when working in a field, with a strange assortment of cobbled together hippy equipment. The pieces couldn't be seen at a distance, but were evenly spread and uniform on close inspection. I couldn`t have arranged them as delicately myself.

I looked up at the beautifully tended market garden surrounding us and it reminded me of a big luscious blanket of green. Smooth from a distance, but full of furrows , plants, stones and insects. All in turn made of further smaller and smaller matter.

The shape of the universe itself is homogenous like this. Referred to as the Isotropic nature of our universe. In the night sky, the stars cluster. Further out into space, the spiral arms of our galaxy have denser` foamy clusters`, and areas that appear empty. But over all, matter is evenly distributed through out the universe. Space is smooth, the inseparable concept of space time perfect. No matter where you stand, or which way you look .

I have been reading about Cosmic texture and cosmic string. The latter of these is a one dimensional topological defecr, a crack or crease, in the fabric of space time . How beautiful is that ?

Home Play Cosmolology.

`Direct your eye sight inward, and you`ll find

A thousand regions in your mind

Yet undiscovered. Travel them, and be

Expert in home- cosmography`

Henry D. Thoreau

Toys are inspirational. They have provided a universal point of recognition in more that one of my projects. A toy can act on the collective consciousness of many people, and acts as a public common denominator.

Even better , toys with a religious theme. Joy to find the Handy Bendy Gandhi finger puppet at the Saatchi gallery. Especially with the absorbent `Christ in a Glass` festering in the kitchen.

Although very amusing, these toys are indications of a strange reversal in the attitude to religious ritual. In some respects, to the faithful ,it could be sacrilegious, to make fun of or belittle those deities held by some in high esteem. Beware of judgement from on high. But beware there is another twist...

Those that hail science as the new religion, with the delicious proff. Brian Cox as the new science saviour, would need to examine the moral integrity behind many children's toys based on science research. Oh, thats different, those toys would be classed as educational.

Only So Much Matter...

`Dead Dad`, Ron Mueck 1996-97

Rest in Peace William Bird , Died 1st May 2010. Aged 79.