An off-site project in conjunction with HATCH
@ The Power of the Sea
Part of BristolArt Weekender/Sat 3rd May – Mon. 5th May
Title: Heisger Spring Tide Cycle
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| Heisgeir: Tidal location |
I propose to make six drawings, each within
a six-hour period -the duration of a changing tide- that together record the
tidal pattern left by the sea at a location visited 30.04.14, Heisgeir/the
Monach Islands, off the west coast of Scotland.
Here I experienced ‘The Power of the Sea’ in
a most personally threatening way, when, misinformed about tidal access between
the main islands, I faced being cut off, (I had been ‘reliably informed’ that Ceann Iar would be
connected at low tide by sandbanks to Shivinish and Ceann Ear). Despite making careful plans to allow time for safe passage, on the
return leg I had to make a snap decision – what to do when confronted with a
rapid incoming tide that had already covered the crossing? Fearful, I decided
to wade across. The first body of water was knee deep and 15 foot wide but the
second almost waist deep and approximately 30 feet wide!
A written description of this event, a
story if you like, will be available for visitors to read at RWA. Every 30
minutes I will photograph the drawing as it develops, a slow reveal to echo
that of a tide retreating across the sands. Images can either be printed and
displayed or accessible to the public on the inter-net.
As a group, these drawings will re-present
the ‘topography’ created by the power the sea, in the sand at this tidal place.
Their making will serve as a meditation on
the event for the artist, and an invitation to others, to reflect on our human
frailty when confronted by the power of the sea.
Sophie Morrish
May 2014
