NOW IS THE TIME OF MOSS. Found spirit bottle, pavement moss (from same site) wooden sign.
Work in progress
Ideas, unrealised, and proposed.
Boundary Detector Workshop / Part – 2
17/09/2022 Second Workshop at Longdendale Environmental Centre as GUIDEline project with Glassball Studios: In this workshop, we continued to work on our boundary detectors; moss terrariums with carbon and aluminium layers which act as electrodes. In my test, I used moss growing on a carbon graphite felt layer (the anode), over a granular substrate of Zeolite (the electrolyte, but in the workshop, we used grit and mud collated from the boundary). The base of the jar is covered with aluminium foil (the cathode). As the moss photosynthesises and microbes do their thing - electrons are exchanged between the two electrodes generating electricity (more info on the science at end of this post). However, it is as yet unclear exactly how
Proximity- Residency at Rogue project space
Proximity Collective In Residence at Rogue Project Space: 11th April - 5th May 2022 Proximity is a collective of 6 artists interested in the spatial and social elements of practice-as-research (established May 2019). Through a series of in-person residencies across the north of England and regular virtual meet-ups, we have developed our approach of “convivial aesthetics” and provide one another with professional, creative, and emotional support. During our residency at Rogue Project Space we will continue to explore different ways in which our proximity to each other can create new ideas, ways of thinking, and strategies for making and thinking art. View this post on Instagram
Experience in action: Work in Progress
This page has some notes and background info on the activities and experiments we are employing for the Experience in Action project with Body Eyes and Movement (BEAM) Lab at the University of Manchester. As part of my PhD research, I ran a number of workshops on perceptual illusions (all inspired by research at BEAM Lab and conversations with Dr. Ellen Poliakoff who also acted as one of my PhD supervisors) . The workshops often used the Rubber Hand illusion (RHI) and its many variations as a starting point. I gave participants instructions and asked them to experiment with different stimuli materials and arrangements and devise new experiments of their own. I found that observing participants experimenting and playing with ideas,
Maths Art Group
Art & Maths: Imaginary Numbers, the Haptic Sublime and the Art of Solving Problems Annie Carpenter, Anthony Hall, Michelle Harrison, Matthias Heil, Andrew WilsonFrom a mathematician’s point of view, solving a problem is not simply about the end result, it could be about finding a novel or elegant way to get there. The group presents artefacts related to a question they have discussed at length - is solving a new maths problem like setting a new climbing route? They admit to being no closer to answering this question but the journey has been an interesting one.
Experience in Action
FIELD STATION [work in progress]
This page documents the process of creating Field Station, from the original concept (a mobile ecological lab towed by bicycle) to the practical details of working through problems in the studio and foraging for materials, to the final result in Mid February 2022 [See workshop details here]. You can see some of the trailer design inspiration here, and details about the e-bike conversion using the Revos Ebike conversion kit here. Field Station [Commision] Field station is designed as a mobile resource used for pop-up interventions and workshops as part of a Climate Change Awareness Project With Manchester Art Gallery. The project aims to raise awareness and enhance perceptions of the unnoticed and sometimes invisible non-human inhabitants of the urban environment. Participants encountering Field Station will be invited
The sound of Moss
Recordings of the sound of dry clumps of Moss rehydrating [various species] growing in the woods Alderley Edge, absorbing the moisture from a fine vapour, using hydrophones put into the soil underneath the moss. See https://www.invisibleworlds.ac.uk/ . This is a technique I developed through the bryophytes project at Gallery Oldham. Antony Hall · bio-crust study: Moss rehydration
Moss Map
Images from the 'Proximity' exhibition At Abingdon Studios 26 Aug – 16 September 2021. The 'Moss Map' and bottle terrariums were created as part of the bryophytes project at Gallery Oldham. I was introduced to the concept of walking as research through a Proximity workshop [led by Anne Carragher] during the first COVID lockdown in 2020. I walked around the block and collected mosses with which to make a terrarium in a bottle. This idea became the basis for the Bryophytes project with Gallery Oldham, during which I re-collected moss specimens [bryophytes] from sites that were popular with collectors in the 1800s. The new specimens will be identified, catalogued and added to their natural history collection. In addition to collecting dry
para-lab report
para-lab invite you to join us as we come together to display and discuss a series of ongoing collaborations between artists and scientists. The report will be presented through artefacts accumulated from the process of collaboration, as well as workshops and a mini-symposium (free) registration on Eventbrite) to contextualise the work. The weekend acts as a marker along the path of long-term, open-ended collaborations and a platform for the participants and the public to get together in real life after so long operating only online. Open to the public: Rogue Project Space, Thursday 23rd September, 6 - 8Saturday 25th September, 11- 5, Sunday 26th September, 12 - 4.
Hydrophone recordings
Moss re-hydration
On Decomposition and Interspecies Collaboration (Work-In-Progress) Various-Authors
A Live feed (the sound of woodlice eating and communicating) as the keynote presentation for the 'Hopsitality' symposium/conference 2021. This text talks about how this came about, and outline the presentation and details of the 'paper' that was produced. As part of 'Hospitality' a residency project with Proximity hosted by the UoC Fine Art writing group, a conference was organised as a final outcome and reflection on the project. The idea was that we would speak about our various practices and explore cross overs concerning the theme of Hospitality. Unfortunately, as the deadline drew near, we found ourselves having to find a keynote speaker at the last minute. At the time, I had been working on some sound recording experiments, listening
The sound of terrestrial Isopods
[the humble woodlouse] On my various moss bothering escapades, I have found myself exploring shady riverbanks of the Medlock, damp brickwork and stones, the crumbling remnants of industrial architecture, canals locks, and old cotton mills. Rummaging around on the forest floor, damp rotten logs the details of tree bark and rocks. Each of these different environments has its own acoustic ecology (or 'eco-acoustic'). Mossy sites seem to have quietness to them, the moss visually muffles and envelops the sharp rocks and chaos of broken sticks. There is also a softness to the sound, like the effect of a fresh snowfall. I decided to take my sound recorder on some of my field trips. When making field recordings, I have to stand perfectly
Nostoc
Experience in Progress Light Box
Fieldwork: Bryophytes at Snipe Clough
Experiment 8
Drawing of experimental apparatus. Participatory work. As yet unrealised. OLFACTION EXP. 8 / A0 drawing 2020 OLFACTION EXP. 8 / A0 drawing 2020
Interface objects [IO]
Testing the autoscope
Extracts from an experiment/performance with the Autoscope, to see if the feeling of disembodied/remote presence is amplified through taking on a challenging physical task, and to explore how this affects our perception of the landscape. Thanks to Andrew P Brooks for film and photography. "Autoscope builds on laboratory-based simulations of out of body experiences; the portable device allows the participant to freely navigate the world, experiencing themselves in 3rd person, as part of the landscape via a live video feed to a head-mounted display. The visual mechanisms are important in this illusion, but tactile and sonic stimuli further strengthen the effects. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yY7bs2Lih0Y&t=386s
Williams Clough ascent using Autoscope
Autoscope testing at studio
Autoscope prototype
Autoscope builds on laboratory-based simulations of out of body experiences; the portable device allows the participant to freely navigate the world, experiencing themselves in 3rd person, as part of the landscape via a live video feed to a head-mounted display. The visual mechanisms are important in this illusion, but tactile and sonic stimuli further strengthen the effects. Autoscopy can be described as the disembodied perception of seeing one own body from an elevated or distanced location outside the body. The phenomena of the ‘out of body experience’ during heightened states of heightened consciousness or near-death experience tend to have spiritual or shamanistic connotations, but in recent times science has done much to demystify this phenomenon, identifying the neural mechanisms responsible.
Action Intention Paradox
In this experiment, which is now renamed the 'Alien Hands Experiment' one participant [A] places their hands under a flat-screen monitor. They then see what seems to be their own hands under the screen when in fact these are someone else's hands [B] who is mirroring their actions. The effect can be quite uncanny especially if the appearance of the hand contrast with their own [in scale, age or colour. Participants work together to lead or mirror the movements of what appears to be their own hands under a screen. After a short time, participants experience strange sensations which oscillate between a loss of agency over their own hands and feeling agency over someone else's hands. Action Intention Paradox uses a
Mirror Gaze Box
A rapidly prototyped blackout box for the mirror gaze box, this is to create a dark space for the Mirror Gaze Experiment. Inside is an Infra Red LED spotlight and modified web camera. The camera films the participant in real time from behind a two-way mirror, as they experience the illusory effect of sensory deprivation. Mirror Gaze Box - prototype
IR Camera hack
For the Mirror Gaze experiment, I need a camera that works in darkness and can pick up Infrared light. Most webcams have an IR filter. Many such as this Logitech HD webcam have instruction online. Turns out mine was a slightly different model to this and meant that the entire thing needed dismantling and the camera module had to be unsoldered to get to the filter.
Stereoscopic camera experiments
Meta-Perceptual Rail
The meta-perceptual rail is a linear track along which mount mirror apertures and other props and stimuli can be mounted. It is used for meta-perceptual experiments, testing the limits of visual and meta-perceptual experience. It can be used as an introspective device to explore metaphysical and somaesthetic questions of our experiences and location self in relation to the physical body. 'Such rails are typically made of wood and designed to be very stiff. The rail normally begins with a chin rest followed by a graduated grove extending from this point. This allows other features such as holders for perceptual stimuli, filters, apertures, mirrors and cameras to be bolted down and precisely shifted along the length of the rail.'
Autoscope backpack
My alloy backpack arrived and has proved perfect for the job of supporting a laptop and a 2m long boom. As an object, It certainly has a vintage feel and a clear aesthetic reference to Roman Signer. this seems entirely appropriate, something about the strangeness of the endeavour as well as the metaphorical notions of escape and travelling through the imagination.
Tactile Anchoring Device prototype 2
The first film of the Tactile Anchoring Device in progress, showing the use of brushes and fans to generate the illusion of an invisible hand... https://youtu.be/vHaB6HBbQrs The system is based on an Arduino controls two sets of identical stimuli which move in synchronisation with each other [ servo motor, articulating solenoids, fans, lamps etc] Once the participant is experiencing the illusion, the operator or autonomous systems can trigger a ‘shock’ or threat stimuli. This is currently in the form of a solenoid which releases a heaved plum line weight which drops into the empty space. See the project page here. http://antonyhall.net/blogtactile-anchoring-device/