Wind MAPPING: using wind as an active visual medium
I have facilitated several public engagement workshops exploring ideas based on the theme of wind, an element I associate strongly with living on the Fife coast. These have included workshops for MEANDER, Perth 2019, artist Elizabeth Ogilvie at Ambika P3 Gallery in London (Out of Ice exhibition, 2014), Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games and also the Cupar Arts Festival (2013). This collection of images initially depict some of my own wind mappings but also photos from various workshops I have facilitated.
WIND MAPPING enables participants to use curious apparatus to capture the power of wind to create beautiful, ethereal drawings. This is fascinating on many levels, not least using the invisible to create appealing visual images – harnessing wind as a medium to bring movement to art.
Kinetic temporary sculptures highlight patterns created by wind flow revealing its constant state of flux. Such wind 'mapping' converts the invisible into striking images which reveal the ever-changing movement of the wind. Exploring wind is a conduit to developing skills across a broad range of media in exciting and innovative ways.
These workshops explore the impermanent nature of the weather and the traces it leaves behind, encouraging observation about the surrounding environment in a fun and interactive way. Using a process of experimentation and adaptation of the materials provided, participants reveal the ever-changing movement of the wind and create a set of unique cartographic records or WIND MAPS. They revelled in the fact that no two drawings are ever the same.
