Sunday 24 March 2024

'The Basin': Innundation [Draft 1.0]

 


All Images: Cumberland Basin, Bristol, February 2024



The sea has absorbed the city, and the history of the whole world drains into the Basin. An ocean of time is collecting here. It is likely that the highest temperatures occurred in a relatively shallow layer at the surface, and there is uncertainty over what the future will look like. The reclamation of time is jeopardised as grey curtains snap across dull alloy. [Delivery is constrained and regeneration is anticipated to be phased over the long term]. Inherent uncertainty, often known as random or natural variability, can be further categorised into temporal and spatial variability and a number of ‘climate metrics’ aimed at enabling such a comparison have been proposed. Water and stone flow together as the stabilising anchors melt away. N.B: For maps of the environmental designations within and adjacent to the study site refer to the various environmental assessment reports.













Our loaded springs flex against the accelerating gale and the cabin crackles. This vessel is lost at sea, so If you do have a clever climate control system, utilise it. Our cartography was rendered futile as first we pressed our stiffening backs into a corner [displacement waves surging through the elevated cubicle’s aperture] - then ran for more secure refuge. Now we recognise that evidence is not fixed [available information may not be in a format that is directly applicable to a traditional probabilistic analysis]. The equipment became saturated and we are electronically compromised, as our horizons contract to the extent of this small condensing capsule.










The visible city dissolves onto a rainscreen of fluid drape and chased droplets [the water is multidirectional]. The impact on these views, and any others considered relevant, will require assessment as part of any future proposals. A red/amber/green system has been used to mark the placemaking interventions, but colours leach into each other - a dull film of marine oil on a lead-grey membrane. The lead is beaten and deformed. Ghosts of transport shiver around the rim - hurling gutter bilge in the faces of: [a.] flailing athletes; [b.] failing aesthetes; [c.] those with no option [see also the momentary flicker across the reviewing screen]. It is clear that the risk is predominantly governed by the receptor and inclusive public spaces encourage people to go outdoors. The wicking function overloads  and hi-viz washes-out. The embankment liquifies beneath our feet. On the level plane, submerged geometry withdraws into micro-marshland beneath new contours [the map re-drawn in real time]. There seems to be some difference between those areas which had remote control rain gauges fixed in the catchment areas and those which did not. Reflected alerts shiver and fragment, mirrors pit, and the concentrics atomise beneath a million impacts. We witness the disintegration of the inverse world. The decomposition is based on criteria of process rather than necessarily by representing the physical connectivity between sub-systems.















The situation necessitates serious hazard analysis. Integrated consideration of adaptation and mitigation will allow us to identify interdependencies, be more efficient and minimise risk. The options are as follows: [i.] Wait-out the emergency in hope [with gates assumed to be in open position]; [ii.] Cut and run [do-something options avoid the carbon impact of the emergency]. To travel feels perilous, given the prevailing conditions; to risk it after dark - worse still. Comparative qualitative methods [such as the risk matrix] are useful in that they allow different types of hazard to be compared on the same scale, require a relatively  small amount of specialist skill, and allow easy prioritisation of the risks. The sky is locked tight and the city closes in on itself - sullenly resigned. Flooding can lead to poverty in low income households. It can make life more precarious for the vulnerable and elderly and have psychological impacts. New modelling suggests overtopping is likely [Defences do not on the whole overtop as soon as x = 1]. 











Agreement is reached and the decision made: Evacuate the zone whilst the possibility remains; postpone any further conclusions until more data can be safely collected. As this evidence base evolves and we gain new learning, we will use this knowledge to overcome challenges and respond to new opportunities that arise. The retreat is strategic [some may not make it]. Any actions identified are explicitly for managing a repeat event of this nature. Unmoored, we aquaplane north - peering to discern taillights and assess breaking distances through spray plumes and blue flicker. Control systems fail and emergency protocols are implemented along the way [two hours to the boundary].





Tuesday 19 March 2024

Has The Cycling Industry Lost Its Way? [trans_scribe]

 


Photo-Manipulation: March 2024


[Adjusted Video Transcription]:

Elite professional cyclists are often held up on a metaphorical and literal pedestal as an example of what all cyclists should do basically if the pros do it so should you however I'm gonna go counter that flow and give you three reasons why you shouldn't do what the pros do why are you tearing the bike community apart why and to be clear this isn't a knock against pro-cyclists or people that light that kind of writing I'm just simply staying that one particular style of writing shouldn't be the default lens through which we look at all of cycling the first reason you shouldn't do what a pro-cyclist does is they basically have different goals theirs is to compete in when races and bring home a pay cheque and make their sponsors happy and if that isn't your goal then you should probably take what they do with a grain of salt if your goal is to drop your kids off at school pick up some groceries go on a long and lazy meandering tour then it goes without saying you don't need to emulate what they're doing you don't need a carbon fibre bike you don't need to wear some crazy arrow helmet or a skin suit a lot of that is an unnecessary expense that's not going to benefit most cyclists and if anything it just acts as a barrier furthermore advice in training videos that information is great if you want to race and want to participate in that kind of writing but it shouldn't be the received wisdom for all people on the bike if your goal is to just ride around riding a bike shouldn't be like school where you work your way up to some kind of vague ideal and you graduate to a real cyclist and they give you an arrow helmet and clipless pedals just like how everyone who drives a car doesn't aspire to be an F1 racer to be a real driver some people just drive to get around to move their kids to do daily tasks this dovetails into another reason why you shouldn't do what the pros do in particular using the same equipment pro cyclists are train athletes that way like next to nothing they’re super flexible and what suits them so they can accomplish their goals doesn't make sense for a lot of people so don't feel that pressure to slam that stem right on super narrow high pressure tires unfortunately today you know most road bikes are actually road racing bikes or pretend racing bikes again to use the car analogy a lot of people are looking for an event or that affordable you know bare bones pickup truck to do tasks but most bike shops when you walk in there they're basically selling you know the equivalent of Formula One cars or Formula One car light give me a bike with a comfortable ride with tyres that aren't optimised just to go around a closed circuit track and whatever the bike equivalent of cupholders is that might be brazen for adventure nipples more cup holders and more better and the last reason why you shouldn't do what the pros do is because it's their job and it's not yours you don't want to turn something fun into a job do you just like any job cycling has a uniform and tools to accomplish that very specific task aero clothing and funny hats make sense in that context but if it's not your job and your pay cheque doesn't rely on your your cycling performance then don't worry about it again not knocking anyone that does this kind of writing or enjoys this kind of writing or wants to do this kind of writing but there is a big wide world of people that ride their bikes or want to get into cycling that are just kind of put-off and intimidated by this constant messaging it's a way we're able to keep the lights on quite literally you know we're not sponsored by any big cycling brands if you appreciate this independent voice.




Original Images: West Leicester, March 2024








Monday 11 March 2024

Completed Painting: 'space_time_07 [wave function]'

 


'space_time_07 [Wave Function]', Acrylics, Paper Collage, Ball Point Pen & Paint Pen on Panel,
300 mm x 300 mm, 2024


Here's the latest of my 'space_time' panels. As is often the case, anyone needing an explanation may find certain clues below...



"Conceptually, the Schrödinger equation is the quantum counterpart of Newton's second law in classical mechanics. Given a set of known initial conditions, Newton's second law makes a mathematical prediction as to what path a given physical system will take over time. The Schrödinger equation gives the evolution over time of a wave function, the quantum-mechanical characterization of an isolated physical system. The equation was postulated by Schrödinger based on a postulate of Louis de Broglie that all matter has an associated matter wave. The equation predicted bound states of the atom in agreement with experimental observations" [1.].



"Schrödinger himself suggested in 1952 that the different terms of a superposition evolving under the Schrödinger equation are 'not alternatives but all really happen simultaneously'. This has been interpreted as an early version of Everett's many-worlds interpretationThis interpretation, formulated independently in 1956, holds that all the possibilities described by quantum theory simultaneously occur in a multiverse composed of mostly independent parallel universes" [2.].




“In order to give an account of these practices [of everyday life], I have resorted to the category of ‘trajectory’. It was intended to suggest a temporal movement through space, that is, the unity of a diachronic succession of points through which it passes, and not the figure that these points form on a space that is supposed to be synchronic or achronic. Indeed, this ‘representation’ is insufficient, precisely because a trajectory is drawn, and time and movement are thus reduced to a line that can be seized as a whole by the eye and read in a single moment, as one projects onto a map the path taken by someone walking through a city. However useful this ‘flattening out’ may be, it transforms the temporal articulation of places into a spatial sequence of points. A graph takes the place of an operation. A reversible sign (one that can be read in both directions, once it is projected onto a map) is substituted for a practice indissociable from particular moments and ‘opportunities’, and thus irreversible (one cannot cannot go backwards in time, or have another chance at missed opportunities). It is thus a mark in place of acts, a relic in place of performances: it is only their remainder, the sign of their erasure. Such a projection postulates that it is possible to take the one (the mark) for the other (operations articulated on occasions). This is a quid pro quo typical of the reductions which a functionalist administration of space must make in order to be effective [3.].


West Leicester, January 2024



[1.] & [2.]: Wikipedia, 'Shrodinger Equation'.

[3.]: Michel de Certeau, 'The Practice of Everyday Life', Berkeley/L.A./London, University of California Press, 1984/1988.



Sunday 25 February 2024

Completed Paintings: 'space_time_05 [Undertaking]' & 'space_time_06 [Green Light]'

 


'space_time_05 [Undertaking]', Acrylics, Paper Collage, Paint Pen, Ballpoint Pen, Ink
& French Polish on Panel, 300 mm x 300 mm, 2024


Here are the latest of my 'space_time' panels, along with a few relatively facile clues. It doesn't feel like too much further explanation is necessary at this point. A few further insights into this little run of small-scale works can be found here, and here.














'space_time_06 [Green Light]', Acrylics, Paper Collage, Paint Pen, Ballpoint Pen, & Ink
on Panel, 300 mm x 300 mm, 2024













"Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that's no matter—to-morrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther.... And one fine morning..." [1.]





Inner Ring Road, Leicester, February 2024


Inner Ring Road, Leicester, January 2024



[1.]:  F. Scott Fitzgerald, 'The Great Gatsby' London & Dublin, Penguin, 2000/1925



Saturday 20 January 2024

Completed Paintings: 'space_time_03 [Perdu]' & 'space_time_04 [Memento]'

 


'space_time_03 [Perdu]', Acrylics, Paper Collage, Screen Print Fragments, Paint Pen,
Ball-Point Pen, Ink & French Polish on Panel, 300 mm x 300 mm, 2024


My creative energies mostly turned towards painting as 2023 turned the corner into 2034, and these little panels have been appearing relatively rapidly (by my standards). As a body, they seem to be serving as a kind of test-bed for various motifs, which will (I hope/assume) continue to evolve and mutate as more such pieces appear. Those layered motifs (and texts) themselves represent the numerous theoretical and emotional responses which emerge, along with subsequent (possibly quite arbitrary or capricious) associations, as I repeatedly haunt the same relatively overlooked corner of inner Leicester.






So far, so customary. This is essentially the same modus operandi that I've adopted for many years now. It is clearly what I do. And, as cartography continues to play an active role just now, any amateur sleuth with access to Google maps can easily detect that the territory under examination is still that portion of West Leicester traditionally known as St Augustines/Blackfriars. Bordered by the River Soar to the west, and the inner gyratory road to the east - and with Great Central Street and the ghost of a long decommissioned rail route running through its heart, this little zone is one to which I have been drawn repeatedly for longer than I can remember. Indeed, numerous posts on here can attest to that.










I suppose this might lead one to  suspect that things have all just become a bit stuck - or even that I'm (literally) raking over the same old ground with diminishing returns. And yet, these little panels (along with the slightly larger associated works from last year) actually feel surprisingly fresh to me, just as my own responses to the terrain continue to provoke and delight me. I think this is for two key reasons.


'space_time_04 [Memento]',  Acrylics, Paper Collage, Screen Print Fragments, Ball-Point Pen,
Paint Pen, Ink, Spray Enamel & French Polish on Panel, 300 mm x 300 mm, 2024




Firstly, the neighbourhood itself has undergone such massive transformation and redevelopment over recent years (and continues to do so), that it hardly resembles the same landscape I traversed just five or ten years ago. As a result, the possible narratives and emotional responses it may have one engendered are themselves continually refreshed. The strata of history buried beneath newly-laid tarmac and paving may prevail, but the present (and future) are up for grabs in ways that could not have been predicted when I first began to perambulate there. As the titling of these panels attests, space and time are inextricably entangled, and past/present/future all remain nested within each other in a multi-dimensional exchange.

The very processes of transformation, along with their associated memories (real, imagined and constantly emerging), are the real 'subject' of the work, as much as anything more specifically defined. The lines of the street plan may remain (relatively) stable, but the spaces and flows between them are where the real drama lies.




The second point worth making relates to that idea of continual flux - and in particular to the manner in which my emotional responses and thought-processes may be activated during/following any given journey along well-trodden routes. As work from a decade ago demonstrates, the key process remains relatively unchanged. Back then however, the use of found texts was often enough to elicit a kind of ambiguous frisson, with any further shoe-horned associations being perhaps a little 'route one' (in my mind at least).

Since then, my readings into such relatively pop philosophical ideas as Hauntology and Psychogeography have themselves led to the somewhat more elevated ideas around Situationism or the even more deliciously abstruse writings of Deleuze & Guattari et al. If much of the stuff at the apparent Philosophical 'top-end' remains pretty obscure to me, it has, I believe, started to liberate the nature in which my own thought processes flow around those cartographical delineations. Key to this are the ideas of trajectory and the 'line of flight', as well as the notion of rhizomes as the preferred model for explaining experience and knowledge to ourselves.

If the Situationist notions of the 'drift' and the city as an intellectual/emotional playground essentially validate my own humble activities, then it is perhaps D&G who point to more organic, less 'organised' ways of freeing the mind once immersed within it. Any point at which one's feet/wheels/lens/attention come to rest is essentially just a taking-off point for ideas and associations which may fly-off in a million different directions at any given time. These may themselves entangle with each other in a potentially endless complex of shifting nodes and new combinations. Coincidence, chance, tangentiallity, transverse shifts and apparent arbitrariness are all grist to this mill. Essentially there is only one map, and any pathway (be it neural or geographic) might ultimately connect to another - as we move around it in a perpetual state of becoming. In this context, perhaps one might traverse the entire globe, or simply the same small patch (through time), to much the same effect - providing one remains openly engaged.








Or something like that...





Thursday 4 January 2024

Derelict Mirror (Happy-ish New Year)

 

All Images: Central Leicester, New Year's Day, 2024


The festivities are behind us, and it's time to peer trepidatiously into the future. I can't claim this was the most uplifting of Christmas/New Year periods, being largely characterised by yet more school-borne illness and a seemingly endless procession of Atlantic storms. Thankfully, the virus has departed, but each subsequent extreme weather event served to both lower the mood and raise the water levels - to the point where my own neighbourhood here in Leicester was subject to a full-on flood alert for a couple of days. I can only hope the immediate emergency is abated, and that we dodged a bullet here (others have not been so lucky) - not least as moving valuables upstairs and taking midnight walks to gauge nearby river levels is hardly a relaxing or creative way to spend one's precious leisure time.








Nevertheless, the creative life is about adapting to events as they present themselves, not as we would idealise them. Even between seemingly interminable downpours, there have been brief windows of photographic opportunity, and the chance to grab a bit of much-needed two-wheeled exercise. If life gives you economic/political gloom, environmental collapse, climatic catastrophe, illness and despondency - then find an attractively waterlogged bit of waste ground to symbolise the mood - that's my motto. I've passed by this portion of nondescript, derelict vacancy many times, but this time the standing water and briefly atmospheric illumination transformed it into something actually worth documenting.

To be sure, it's the kind of bleak subject-matter to which I'm often drawn, and perhaps captures the exhausted and demoralised mood of this particular nation, in several ways. Nevertheless, there's no denying its obscure beauty and wealth of visual texture. To simply observe and document is at least to engage, and creative endeavour is ultimately its own reward. To extract stimulation from the least promising circumstances is a generator of hope - and thus a political act in its own right.

Who knows? 2024 might even see a (marginally) less dysfunctional government replace the current criminal regime. That's if we can avoid a slide into full-on populist fascism, of course, but for now - let's look on the bright side...