Charcoal Canopy

A canopy made from etaproof fabric and charcoal, water can bounce and jump on it due to the way the fabric is arranged. The charcoal purifies the water - not necessarily for humanity, but for the whole water cycle - a hydrosocial purifier? 

I could to use it as a provocation - ask others to say what it is used for...

The Rain Door - a meterological toy

                                                                        

The Rain door is an alternative tent door, it works as part of a landscape and an atmosphere. One sits inside and tweeks the rain funnels in order to try a capture the rain. They can be turned 'off' by a 180 degree twist. One can move the tent also- to get a good direction.

 The rain comes through from outside in globules. It can be harvested directly this way. The rain door intends to make you hope for rain, and respond to rain. As part of this one begins to understand rain, and water in terms of direction, landscape, volume, character, illusivenes....

    Here it is installed as a prototype as part of our family summer camping holiday in Weymouth, it is made out of Etaproof waterproof organic cotton - which is waterproof entirely due to the nature of it weave :www.stotzfabrics.ch, and reacts with the surface tension of water to form it into 'mercurial' droplets

Pins (for now)

Recycleable eyelets from www.dtpsupplies.com

                                      

Ready for Rain

                                      

   Moving the rain funnels - trying to find the right angle for the conditions

                                      

                                      

                                                          No rain - so cheating instead

The 'rain' comes through

       
                                        Torrential rain at night - we missed it, we were asleep. 

A pattern will emerge on the rain door depending on the type of rain and ones interaction with it

Conclusions

A posthuman relationship with water needs to be performed - not explained. It is also a practice too removed from our habits to transfer quickly. It is complex, and perhaps demands multiple partial performances. If the performance begins by a relationship between humans, there is a danger that we will remain on the centre stage. I am going to try and perform it architecturally - I need to know if this can be done. 

Day 2

Inspired by Heather and Ivan Morrisons book ‘Falling into Place' I told Tom story of a watery posthuman future, in a watery place. We tried to make a structure together, as if this was a reality. The story worked, in a way it was the best bit, but how to translate this to materials and structure was not easy to grasp.It all felt a bit contrived. I think that first an object must exist to communicate and inspire a material manifestation of posthumanism. The look and feel of the charcoal was compelling though.

Day 1

I made some full scale experiments of spaces, trying to work with materials and water towards some post -human expression. The frilly hydrophillic was a bit too hydrophillic. The cotton was compelling, fascinating, the water looked mercurial , and jumped and leapt and coagulated in ways that were best when I was not trying to control it.

July

July has been a month of full scale discoveries.

Here we are, Tom (my beautiful assistant) and I ,  arriving at Nethergong Campsite - Canterbury, a watery and wooded  place with very hospitable proprietors who were happy for us to experiment on their land. www.nethergongnurseries.co.uk

Fortunately it was quiet as it hasn't stopped raining for weeks. 

I have come here to try out some full scale making, and to explore a question that is troubling me, Which is around whether this work should manifest as some sort of 'social architectural practise' that explores water with other humans, or whether the creation of watery spaces them selves will do this more effectively.  

I can't ignore the unpredictability of the weather. The floods, the rain, the sun, the rain, the sun. There has to be the ability to respond to, but also to offer something to, water.