Zoetropic Sculptures
Baker, S. L. (2022) Verge, Digitally combined drawing on canvas on board, 100cm
Watch on YouTube https://youtu.be/aOEnLMLurLk
Watch on YouTube https://youtu.be/aOEnLMLurLk
In Verge, multiple line drawings digitally scanned form links in space perhaps representing the need to maintain equilibrium. Colours represent the four elements needed to sustain life, fire, air, water, and earth. At present there is too much heat in our atmosphere defrosting the polar ice caps leading to more frequent flooding. Delicate independencies on our planet have been upset, ecologies broken, and events threaten our very survival in a fragile volatile world.
Baker, S.L. (2022) Venice, Digitally combined photographs and footage on canvas, 100cm
Watch on YouTube https://youtu.be/aHq687LvfiQ
Watch on YouTube https://youtu.be/aHq687LvfiQ
In 2019, I visited the Venice Biennale just at the beginning of the floods, and just prior to the Pandemic Outbreak. We walked for many miles across the length and the breadth of the city. Every day, I became exhausted climbing up and down the hundreds of steps and bridges, but then I started to see them in a new light, as beautiful material.
On the last day, the precarious situation of the City of Venice really hit home when we had to wade through water to get in and out of our hotels. I filmed the water lapping at the feet of Venice. Later that week the waters rose to 1.87m across central Venice, people were filmed swimming in St. Mark’s Square and the usually bustling tourist boats became banked on the pavements, all amid a heated argument on the impact of tourism on Venice. Little did they realise just how dependant they are on tourism, until there were suddenly no tourists during the pandemic. The once bustling streets were empty, a ghost city. It is estimated that Venice may disappear under the water if insufficient action is taken to curb global warming.
On the last day, the precarious situation of the City of Venice really hit home when we had to wade through water to get in and out of our hotels. I filmed the water lapping at the feet of Venice. Later that week the waters rose to 1.87m across central Venice, people were filmed swimming in St. Mark’s Square and the usually bustling tourist boats became banked on the pavements, all amid a heated argument on the impact of tourism on Venice. Little did they realise just how dependant they are on tourism, until there were suddenly no tourists during the pandemic. The once bustling streets were empty, a ghost city. It is estimated that Venice may disappear under the water if insufficient action is taken to curb global warming.
With special thanks to Eric Dyer, Zoetropic Artist, Baltimore, USA, Arts University Bournemouth and
The Leverhulme Trust
The Leverhulme Trust