Display as meaning

Exhibitions refined how I use height, spacing and light so that the display carries the meaning of the work. At the Curve, Citra Sasmita’s suspended textile and beaded hide elements formed a passage read through spacing and repetition rather than heavy text. That encounter confirmed that elevation and interval are not neutral supports. They are content. In my installation thin ceramic plates, fragments, sand and a measured red line are placed so that light and spacing do the narrative work, not only the surfaces themselves (Barbican Curve 2024).

At London Mithraeum Bloomberg SPACE the careful presentation of Roman fragments at consistent sightlines and in low directional light models how a ground can act as knowledge. A visible join or edge reads as history, not failure, which supports my decision to keep seams legible and repairs clear. The shard speaks when placement makes its curve and break readable (London Mithraeum 2024).

Paintings by Sophie von Hellermann, with pale washes and lunar atmospheres, prompted me to lower contrast and let soft reflection carry mood. A large painting I noted on the lower level in the same visit, George Wilson’s The Last Oozing, used root like linear structures and an autumn palette to slow the reading of the surface. Together these works reinforced a move from contrast and statement toward atmosphere and pace. I now plan installations as atmospheres. A slight tilt in a plate catches window light and sets a moving shadow. A fragment sits where that shadow falls. Presentation is part of how the work argues for time, care and residue. This remains inside the expanded drawing, where field, seam and spacing structure meaning in the room (Krauss 1979).

Closing Notes

The research now stands on a clear set of decisions. Keep evidence of time visible on the surface. Pair materials so light and residue read together. Use fields rather than single statements so spacing and seam can do compositional work. Treat fragments as part of the language. Plan display as argument through height, distance and soft directional light. These choices give the work a stable position and a method that can move into new sites and scales. They also define the practice as expanded drawing rather than illustration. For assessment, the documentation shows wide views, mid views and close details of surfaces where the argument sits, including seams, chips and pooled valleys under raking light. The writing is supported by relevant exhibitions and texts within text citations and a full bibliography. From this point the practice is ready to extend into site situations and small participatory acts without changing its core. A fuller personal account of the shift in thinking and confidence sits on a separate page titled What changed in me.

References

Books and essays

Bartlett, C. 2008. Flickwerk: The Aesthetics of Mended Japanese Ceramics. Bern: Museum für Gestaltung.
Bennett, J. 2010. Vibrant Matter. Durham NC: Duke University Press.
Dexter, E. ed. 2005. Vitamin D: New Perspectives in Drawing. London: Phaidon.
Haraway, D. 2016. Staying with the Trouble. Durham NC: Duke University Press.
Ingold, T. 2007. Lines: A Brief History. London: Routledge.
Ingold, T. 2013. Making. London: Routledge.
Kovats, T. ed. 2014. Drawing Water. Edinburgh: Fruitmarket Gallery.
Krauss, R. 1979. Sculpture in the Expanded Field. October, 8, pp. 30 to 44.
Marks, L. 2002. Touch. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
Olivier, L. 2011. The Dark Abyss of Time: Archaeology and Memory. Lanham MD: AltaMira Press.
Pearce, S. 1992. Museums, Objects and Meanings. London: Leicester University Press.
Temkin, A. ed. 2002. Eva Hesse. San Francisco and New Haven: SFMOMA and Yale University Press.
Tomkins, C. 1996. Duchamp: A Biography. New York: Henry Holt.

Exhibitions and venues viewed

Barbican Centre. 2024. Citra Sasmita: Into the Eternal Forest. The Curve, London. Viewed March 2025.
London Mithraeum Bloomberg SPACE. 2024. Jonathan Baldock: Facecrime. London. Viewed March 2025.
Pilar Corrias. 2024. Sophie von Hellermann: Moonage. London. Viewed March 2025.
Wilson, G. 2024. The Last Oozing. Exhibited work seen in London. Viewed 11 March 2025.

Architecture and collections

Fundació Catalunya La Pedrera. n.d. Casa Milà La Pedrera. Available at: https://www.lapedrera.com/en
London Mithraeum Bloomberg SPACE. n.d. Collection Highlights. London. Viewed November 2025.
Hesse, E. n.d. Early string works. Various collections. Viewed 2025.
Duchamp, M. n.d. The Large Glass. Philadelphia Museum of Art. Viewed 2025.