On the Natural History of Destruction: Maps for Practical Dreamers

On The Natural History of Destruction: Maps for Practical Dreamers (2014) is a body of work produced as part of an Artist’s Residency at Portsmouth Grammar School. First World War centenary commemorations informed the project focus, with research including engagement with artifacts and archival materials held in public and personal collections. A more specific focus included research into World War I aerial reconnaissance photographs and strategic instructional maps, providing information of uninhabited landscapes and terrain which would be important for the war machine’s wrecking of havoc and destruction. The aerial photographs were taken in the nascent days of aerial photography, with images appearing as beautiful abstract landscapes concealing their true nature.

The outcome of the residency project includes a series of drawings and etchings, taking its title from a book by W.G. Sebald, focused on the WW2 firebombing of German cities and the words of the Surrealist artist, Man Ray, who said ‘the world is full of wonderful craftsman but there are very few practical dreamers’.

Drawing series: ‘Maps for Practical Dreamers’, ink and pigment on Fabriano paper.

Etchings: ‘8 x 12: return to an ordered place’, edition of 4 on Fabriano paper.

Artists’ Book: ‘Rudolf: in search of the miraculous’, mixed media collage & dictionary pages.

Supported by Portsmouth Grammar School.