‘Bobby and Stillman’, our collaboration with Professors Sofia Olhede and Patrick Wolfe of UCL’s Big Data Institute, completed its run as part of the Creative Reactions show 15 – 18th May 2017.
Stimulating social context for inter-disciplinary discussions!
See explainerising PDF handout here Bobby + Stillman in more detail
‘Bobby and Stillman’ will be opening as part of Creative Reactions at:
Juju’s Bar and Stage, Truman Brewery, 15 Hanbury St. (off Brick Lane),
London E1 6QR.
The free show at Juju’s bar will be open from midday till 6pm Tuesday 16th to Thursday 18th May. Do call by and see us.
From 7-10pm 15-18th May there will be special events with the scientists and artists behind the work in the show. You can book for these here.
https://pintofscience.co.uk/event/lifelive
Two time-lapse cameras (Bobby and Stillman), each accompanied by a stereo sound recorder, eye each-other as the tide rises around them close to London Bridge. Together they create a dialogue between a fixed vantage point and an erratic floating viewpoint.
Each camera shot 18,843 images during a 12-hour tidal cycle. One photo was taken every two seconds. The two attached sound recorders produced a total of almost 20 hours of continuous audio. All this constituted our ‘data’.
Many art-science projects assume that the artists will produce a subjective ‘creative’ response to the scientists’ objective research. There is an assumption here that scientific work is not creative, or interpretative. We hope to upend this, or at least level the creative playing field. Both scientific statistician Prof. Olhede and ourselves will find ways to respond to our data and present it in different ways.
Currently we have edited two synchronised 37 minute time-lapse films: one looking at the water, the other immersed in the water, each camera looking at the other. But how do we reconcile the sampling of the visual scene every two seconds by the cameras, with the continuous audio? Future posts will explore this issue.
Prof. Olhede is a statistical scientist; amongst other sources, she’s worked with oceanographers on data from ocean research buoys. She and her colleagues are working on a creative response, as scientists; and this is to our raw data, rather than to our completed time-lapse films.
The two sets of interpretations will be projected alongside each other at the Creative Reactions show – Bar Juju in Brick Lane 15-18th May.
Westminster University architecture students were among the last groups to see Thames Tides at Crossness. We are currently arranging for new venues and perhaps a return to Crossness for a longer run next April.
Sunday 23rd October was Open Day at the Crossness Pumping Station. Thames Tides screened throughout the day alongside the mighty beam engines. Last chance to see the show is this Friday 28th Oct. Details and photos below.
Crossness Pumping Station. Friday 28th Oct. 2016
Where?
Crossness Pumping Station
The Old Works, Thames Water S.T.W. Bazalgette Way, Abbey Wood, London SE2 9AQ
When?
Friday 28th Oct. Public guided tour from 10am-1pm. Booking is required for this – through Eventbrite on the Crossness website. Cost is £12 and includes tea and biscuits.
Parking available outside site on Bazalgette Way. Walkers/cyclists gain access via the pedestrian access pathway – at end of Bazalgette Way on left BEFORE thames water security gate.
Thames Tides is screening alongside the beam engines at the ethereal Crossness Engine House. The huge building combines ponderous machinery and delicate filigree work to astonishing effect. It’s function was to pump London’s sewage up above the level of the Thames and release it on an outgoing tide. What better place to screen Thames Tides?
Here are the details:
Crossness Pumping Station. Sunday 23rd Oct. and Friday 28th Oct. 2016 10.30am-4pm.
Where?
Crossness Pumping Station
The Old Works, Thames Water S.T.W. Bazalgette Way, Abbey Wood, London SE2 9AQ
When?
Sunday 23rd Oct. is an Open day from 10.30- 5pm (last admission 4pm). There is no need to book, visitors can just turn up. Ticket prices are £6 for adults and £2 for children under 16.
Friday 28th Oct. Public guided tour from 10am-1pm. Booking is required for this – through Eventbrite on the Crossness website. Cost is £12 and includes tea and biscuits.
Parking available outside site on Bazalgette Way. Walkers/cyclists gain access via the pedestrian access pathway – at end of Bazalgette Way on left BEFORE thames water security gate.
And here are some more photos:
These people have spent years tirelessly re-building one of the four great steam beam engines at Crossness.
Now they are helping us put Thames Tides on in the magnificent Engine House. We spent yesterday blacking out half of the space and erecting the show ready for the public open day this Sunday. Details here.
