floor text 1991

Another polaroid of the floor texts. The texts were made over a period of several days, and the polaroids taken on different days, and at different times of the day, as the work progressed. Therefore the changing levels and qualities of light influenced each photograph; some appear almost bleached, some much more intense, some are warmly coloured, some are cool. I stood in different places to photograph the texts, and took the photographs from different angles.
I used water sometimes to remove text, and then wrote over damp boards, the water enhancing the richness of the old boards, rather akin to moistening a pebble from the beach to intensify its colours.
The experience was pleasurable, I felt a certain frisson from writing on surfaces that normally one is forbidden to write on, and a simple enjoyment in transcribing words more usually contained within the pages of a sketchbook or notebook, on a much larger scale with a free flowing material. There was also a sense of liberation; writing on the floor enabled me to become expansive, not an experience I was familiar with.
The room echoed slightly, had very high ceilings, and in the evenings, when I often worked, was a calm sanctuary. Then few other students were working in the school, so that it felt as though one had the place to oneself. The writings were made in the Spring, the evenings in the North being long and light. I worked in the spirit of experimentation and discovery, rare companions whose presence I was grateful for.