For more birdlouise blog go to http://sciencecrochet.blogspot.com

A Sub-Group of The Infinite.

Thursday 16th July 2009. Last official project day.
What a strange feeling.
Just filled in the ACW report, only about £6 something over budget.
These are the quotes from the reverse of the invitation to `Loopholes`.

Much can be learned by the repitition under different conditions, even if the desired result is not obtained.
Archer J.P.Martin

Repitition is based on body rhythms, so we identify with the heartbeat, or with walking, or with breathing.
Karlheinz Stockhausen.

String theory is an attempt at a deeper description of nature by thinking of an elemenary particle not as a little point but as a little loop of vibrating string.
Edward Witten

Thank you so much to Jacob Whittaker, who is a brilliant artist and my dear friend, for all his work .
What an exellent project, even if I say so myself!

Exotic Matter Indeed

Natural High Light






Players and The Fabric of the Universe






Huge Projection on the Wall

From the back

The back room of The Old Tannery is where the places of the old pits of unsavoryness have been marked out, by archiologists. The room is now a large and open space filled with atmosphere.

The four record players at the back of the space, played four records. With the four tone arms tied to make four aleatoric loops of sound. The players were all found in some way or another , and functioned in an intermediate fashion. The harmonic chorus came from records that were bought the previous day from the charity shop around the corner. They were; two different bird songs recorded at Ynys Hir , the local nature reserve,a song from Richard Rees, a local man who had sung in the Tabernacle next door, and music from a Twmpath, which is a Welsh Barn Dance.

Near to the record players `The Fabric of the Universe`, a piece made from crocheted deep sea fishing line and about 8 feet in diameter,spread, apparently hovvering just above the floor. The amorphic nature of this piece renders it almost invisible, blended with the floors natural textures and the geometric man made markings on the concrete. Its hyperbolic ripples are explored in greater detail by the constant movement projected onto the wall high above. Loops of texture appear to ripple down the walls and drip from the beams.

The relationship between work and space has reached a premium ,`... in a beautiful conversation with each other.`

The space although relativley full, had given our installation an impression of clarity and expansiveness.The installation gave to the space, a vision of the relationship between the unimaginably huge and the invisibly small.

Its quite ironic really. The piece of film that I , personally liked the least has become the strongest piece in our experiments.

To view more pictures from` Loopholes`

Reflecting Iota on Vinyl

Click here to see a collection of images from Loopholes.

A Very Anti Green Gold Room

Half in Day Light

Spot the Crocheting Hands

Green- Gold Shrine

The little anti room between the two large rooms appeared to be perfect for the huge convex mirror and film pieces. During the day the space was not really dark enough ,with only one opening covered by a curtain. Anyhow, the room instantly became full of curling mysterious movement. The little dirty dark non- space was transformend into a strange alter to the crocheted loop. We went back later one night and our theories were proven. The room filled completely with the crochet film! The walls, the ceiling and the floor were covered in loops...and so were we. Right inside the crochet. Saturated and mesmerised.

The low ceiling in the little space, made the experience close and intense, especially when crocheting hands ran across the room, fingers like tiny alien creatures tending the textile mass.

How very strange.

Spinny Tannery

A short experiment spinning the wormhole around with a camera inside

Several Natural Interventions

Detail Experiment #1

Experiment #2l

Detail Experiment #2

Meditative Jake

Photon Board game

As you come into the Tannery, by the rotten wooden door, the natural light in the first area is astounding. Clear and bright with transient graphlines that appear and dissappear as the weather dictates. The half of the roof that isn`t leathal, is covered in clear plastic, giving a white light and slightly over exposed look to the installation. Carefully placing a battery opperated record player (Numark), in the spaces between the drips and crumbleing masonary, the tone arm was tied with first one, and after a natural intervention, (it fell down!) three strings of Iota. Experiment #2 had Seven Iota strings that spread from the small hole in the roof, and streched down to the record player below, with a natural grace that could not have been engineered by human hand. This was the first of the many instances, which illustrated the buildings inate ability to make our experimental installations, site specific.

We hadn`t really totally considered how or where we would place each piece of work. There were ideas that we had talked about, and we had brought quite a few pieces with us. The Old Tannery itself was the catalyst in our visual chemistry .

The locally purchased record on the turn table was deliberatly warped in situe, on the dashboard of the car, and played a simple and airy loop of Welsh Harp music. The undulations of the record flicked and plucked at the strings of tiny pale Iota, making minute movements in time to the looped rhythmn. The breeze from the open door often joined them in a gust of chorus, lifting dust particles into the equation.

As the sun illuminated the plastic roof , parts of the floor were turned into a grid. The whole installation was periodically revealed to be a slow and patent game of Photon chess.

Light from the Past.

Beautiful but deadly. The roof and Cinnabar moth.

Next doors cat.

We arrived at The Old Tannery, MOMA, Machynllech, for a bit of a reccy and met Pete in the gallery next door. MOMA, Wales have purchased The Old Tannery for renovation, but while plans are being made there have been as series of short exhibitions organised by Pete Telfods organisation Culturecolony. ( http://www.culturecolony.org/).

With the roofers imminantly due, Jake managed to arrange, at lighting speed ,a week in residence there. It was an ideal opportunity to view the film work from the project, and experiment with new installation pieces.

Greeted by a neighbourly cat and a murder of wooden crows purched in the decaying eves.( These were left over from the exhibition before.) the building exudes character and history. Stunningly beautiful with textures and natural light. The floor was littered with dead Cinnabar moths, which occaisionally fluttered to the floor and expired infront of your conversation. But, even this seemed to be an appropriate echo of the Tannerys unsavory chemical past. I hope the refurbishment leaves some of the original behind. We thought it was a suitable venue at the time, but had no idea how the building itself was to infiltrate our work and become our inspiration.

Mirror, Mirror In The Post...

Crazee Legs Bird

Bendigedig ( Welsh for brilliant)!

It`s been a long time since my last entry, so now I`ve got some major catching up to do.

The last entry was your invitation to our show at The Tannery. Thanks to every one that came, although I notice some of you couldn`t make it.Oh Well, a while prior to starting the project, Jake had told me, a while back about this 3D projection experiment he had seen on the television involving a convex mirror. It sounded fantastic , and just the sort of optical illusion I wanted to play around with during the Event Horizon project. After a failed mission with a small and too flat purchase, there it was ,on ebay. A convex security mirror. Wooo-Hoo. Put in a bid, and eventually won it for only 99p. Plus, of course £20.00 for the p&p. Which, incidently, looked like it would happen within 24 hours.( Yeah, right).

After a couple of days spent by the letter box, I made enquiries, and was told that the mirror was in the post or with a courrier and was very large. This size must have inhibited the mobility of the delivery service, because 10 days later, still no mirror. The exhibition was imminent and I was due to leave Tuesday. Stressing gently, I arranged to have a second mirror delivered the next day. Not a chance. It did arrive, eventually, fairplay, but not without some phone calls and a bit more insistant re- arranging.

It is huge, yes, and I do love it to bits. There will be more in another blog entry about its place in the show. But, somewhere in the ether is another lost mirror, bit like a 45" diameter flying saucer, be sure not to miss it if it comes your way. Because it certainly didn`t get here. The sellers did promise to drop all costs, because of the muck-ups.

The photos above were taken in the Tannery. What a stunning and atmospheric place. More about that later.

You Are Invited.

Many Hands Make Cosmic Texture

Experimental Wormhands #1 and Wormhands#2.

Too see the strange and beautiful film .http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGl9Ul4IT3s

Superluminal wormhole travel and theories of interconnection.There is a lot of theory out there. Discovered the theoetical existance of `exotic matter` (ooooooo, negative mass and negative energy!?!), yesterday, and white holes (other end of a wormhole), and cosmic texture, which is -thoughts on reasons for large cold spots in the comic ( -Oops typo`, I ment cosmic!) microwave background, bigger than anything ever thought of before. Its so out there (literally), it makes me laugh out loud. It`s just like crochet with words. A different language , with its own tension and stitches. Still involving string theory, and cosmic texture and loops in space and lines of time. I love it .

I understand from Jake this film took hours of editing and rendering. Its amazing. Very busy with itself, it fidgets and multiplies into and out of time, going rhythmnically everywhere and nowhere. Superb! Crocheted discourse between matter and time.

Loop Augumentation

The beginning of the end! At the speed of light.

Still from inside the wormhole filmed with a webcam. The links to the film are as before.

`In the matter of physics, the first lessons should contain nothing but what is experimental and interesting to see. A pretty experiment in itself is often more valuable than twenty formulae extracted from our minds`.

Albert Einstein

We have been playing around with pretty things ,indeed! Strange and beautiful. In search of elusive originality. Or an original take on the old. This is the last month of the three month project, and so far so good. Many new ideas, and maybe even a space to experiment in. This last period is mainly going to be spent editing and experimenting with the film we have already made. We have collected a lot of information, and some of the results can only be judged when they are projected and maybe layered and even maybe filmed again. Searching the obvious spaces in an ever expanding universe, for intra- spaces, to fill the gaps between the loops.

So,I have ordered my new DVD projector today, which is uber- exciting.

`I ask you Tom- How do you know what stars are made of- how do you know how big the galaxies are- what do you mean the Universe expands`?

Virginia Woolfe

`The answers change my dear, Cosmology too has a history`.

T.S.Eliot.

I ask you- when do you stop crocheting? When is it done?

Iota Island

An Installation by Louise Bird - A Film by Jacob Whittaker

Invisible Entity.

Round and Round.

An interesting way of making yourself well dizzy. Put the camera into the Wormhole and spin it over your head. Do not let go. The resulting piece of film is on You Tube.If you want to see it...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LeW31jldfQg

It appears that the crochet itself is still, the outside world spins and loops. As in space time, the movement is an illusion. The events outside the crochet are still, as is the camera itself. The crochet is moving, swinging and looping, but appears stationary. The kinetic energy behind the movement cause by a thrid party (me!), which is not visible to the viewer. This could be an allegory to many an invisible entity. As Spock would have said...`Fascinating Captain`.

The play of light is also interesing. Rendering the line coloured, colourless and flashing with steaks of blue. Lovley.

The Ins and Outs of a Hand Stitched Universe.

`Ah, there`s nothing more exciting than science. You get all the fun of sitting still, being quiet, writing down numbers and listening.` - Principal Skinner, The Simpsons.

From inside a wormhole.

From outside.

Another exert fom a highly experimental loopy evening at Abereifed studios. To hear as well as see click...

I like using the head cam. It has a unique voyeuristic nature. The sections of film that are a view from the inside of the crochet, to the outside world are very interesting. There is potential for further layering , and its inspired thoughts of a possible performance piece.

I feel its time to experiment with projection as well. We have some fairly unique pieces of film, some of which have not been blogged about. The project has about 5 more weeks , (until 16th of July).We have been enquiring about venues, so lets put the Science- crochet in a new space! Layering projection and experimenting with `multiview`, or perhaps `viewniverse`. I don`t really know what they will be! But I have an incling:O

It`s all a bit like infinite expansion really. At which point do you say here is where we begin to start? Potential is so very large. Eintstein said, (and he did have a lot to say on these matters...) " Once you can accept the universe as matter expanding into nothing that is something, wearing stripes with plaid comes easy!"

Purest Green

Cloth fit for a green screen

Midway through our planets earthly light spectrum, we find the nations fav. buzzword colour, green. Like Percy, from one of the `Blackadder` comedy T.V.series, I find myself muttering quietly about discovering an alchemical concoction of `purest green...` Which he manifests whilst attempting a more traditional receipe for gold, the usual alchemists goal.

In this case, we need it to rig up a small green screen for filming hands without shadow. Its kind of technical for me, but as I understand it, the green is the colour found least in human flesh tones. So if you edit out all green from a piece of film, you are left with just the other colours, ie;hands. These can the be layered onto new backgrounds. Anyhow, it`s the next step in the filming schedule. It`s a proven and well used technique, so we are bound to create some indecipherable alien artistic language.

Watch this blog for further uses of the cross cultural nature of textiles to bridge the gap between art and science, even if we are reverting to mediaeval conjouring techniques.

`I must create a system, or be enslaved by another man`s;

I will not reason or compare; my business is to create.`

William Blake.

Theories From Iota Island

Iota on the Spools

Iota Island Alone

Incessant Untangleing

Me, Kathryn, Iota and Bokeh

It took Jake, kathryn and me five and a half hours to install the Iota on the Island. The grass and herbs had been strimmed the day before, and the glorious sun was shining. We worked long and hard, and ended up with the spiritual epiphany cross obscure equation that is `Iota Island`. Jake isn`t in the picures, as when he wasn`t up and down the ladder, he was taking these and hundreds more (literally). There is a link below to an animation of the whole five and a half hours, and photos will be up on my Flickr account. Thank you Katherine and Jake from the bottom of all my Iotas!

It wasn`t easy deciding how to hang the 13 x 20 metre strings. I felt wary about formal arrangement,

but didn`t want them to become a formless tangled mass. That was a practicle rather than aesthetic concern. In the end we begun in a tree, and continued without too much planning. ( Like Pascals universe with it`s centre every where and its circumference nowhere). From the land , the installation looks a bit triangular. Infact there are different plains and linear formations that are really only visable when in the midst of it all. We attempted a parabolic curve, and some curved Euclidian plains. These weren`t so sucessfull. It`s not possible to express very precise geometric formation without equally precise measurement and acurate installation. As we were using trees as verticles, and had to weave in and out of Gunnera and brances, and incorporate a beautiful deserted duck house , the lines went where we could put them. 20 meteres is longer than you can imagine!

The opening went well. Artists showed in and out doors, there was a vast ammount of picnicing and my friends came. Hurrah! The last day is Saturday, and Jake hopes to do some filming in the sun shine that the Met. office have promised us. Watch this blog for floating Iota films. I can`t wait.

Good not to look at rotating yellow wormholes for a few days.

Photos of Iota Island...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/birdlouise/sets/72157616517661942/

Doing the Crochet Cosmic Twist

Worm Turning #2

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71_fqVSQZpI&feature=PlayList&p=DCCDDD7A5F96A3C8&index=11

Click on the above link to see the film.

Putting the tiny crocheting hands into the `Wormhole` adds an element of real and obvious mechanical movement to the digitaly edited rotating crochet.The `Wormhole` has a constant and incessant direction which is is robotic and inorganic, as well as hypnotic and compelling. The small arachnid movement of the hands releaves some of the visual tension. They also create a focal point at the centre of the hole, drawing your attention inwards, and creating an interesting optical illusion.

`They poor the space into a larger space, which is infinity`

Mario Merz 1990.

`Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic`.

Arthur C. Clarke.

Film editing is visual magic- hey presto!

Making Iota Island

Time lapse animation of the installation at Rhod in Drefelin.

Another wormhole rotating

Click here to see another wormhole rotating.

Can I Have Space Time Alone?

Click here...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71_fqVSQZpI

Watch the wormhole turn. Don`t fall in. You`ll end up crochet.

Being comsummed by a supermassive yellow hole.
Sorry.I wiped this picture off the blog by accident. Here it is again.

Videos from Tuesdays webcast - Music to Crochet to

A couple of extracts from the webcast are on Phynodereefilms here.

If you get into the loops the full length versions can be found in the 'webcasts from the studio' set, through the on demand function of the player here.

Supermassive Yellow Hole

Growing . Slowley.

Lines and loops.

At play in the multiverse that is Aberiefed Studios, we continue the quest in search of images of science-crochet and quasi-phenomonology.

Tuesday night was the premier web broadcast of live performance crochet, and catchy vinyl loops.

Jake on the decks playing a live mix unique to the event, with titles that included; 2 copies of Johhny Cash,`Walk The Line`, Nana Mouskouri,` Had I a Golden Thread`,The Incredible String Band`A Very Circular Song`,Phil Coulter `Silver Threads Among the Gold and `The Spinning Wheel`. Links to recordings of the web event are on the horizon. ( Sorry).

The loops of crocheted line and processed lyric merged to make a meditative and holistic sensory event. Worth persuing as a performance piece, live or on film.

I cant remember why or when I put the crochet on my head to continue working! Nice hat though.

Privileged and Subordinate Positions

Video still `Pod 2 Hand 1.`

Video still `Pod 2 Hand 2`.

Ancient Chinese proverb,

`The darkest part is always directly under the lamp.`

To see this experiment click on either of these links.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4hyagYK5gs&feature=PlayList&p=DCCDDD7A5F96A3C8&index=7

http://www.vimeo.com/4678615

An Imaginary Number

Iota is the letter i in the Greek alphabet. It is used in mathematical equations that deal with Complex number systems. In these equations, either i or -i, is used to denote the ammount that is equal to the square root of minus one. The square root of minus one, if I understand what I have learned, has no numerical value, or its value cannot be calculated. That required a bit of consideration...The square root of minus one has no numerical value. (If I have got this wrong please let me know)!
A style of multi disciplinary poetry. A number with no comprehensible value , expressed as a letter, still has a vital and proven place in mathematical equations that describe the order of our Universe. I have heard many times phrases such as `...an Iota`s worth of difference`... or `I couldn`t give an Iota`... but just thought that an Iota must be a very small ammount. Not, that it is what is known as an imaginary or mysterious number, from the `Complex` rather than the `Real` number system.

I had started to crochet the project now called`Iota`, for the Drefelin Mill exhibition, and didn`t really know what they were. One day while engrossed in crocheting, and listening to the radio, I heard Marcus du Sautoy talking about the mathematics of infinity.He briefly mentioned Iota.
Revelation!
How beautiful!
That is ,of course, what I was crocheting. All linked in an extending linear system. Frilly, transparent, imaginary numbers. Perfect!
It was Dustin Hoffmans characture from that amazing film `I Heart Huckabees`, that said,
` There is no remainder in the mathematics of infinity`.
So I continued to crochet, on and on. There are about 13 lengths of Iota , each about 20 metres long. They will be on show on Iota Island from th 25th May.
We will continue to use the Iota and film to explore the concept of how the insignificant multiplies into imposing itself, to become phenomononal.

(Although it was probably some one elses original quote. The film is full of brilliant references.)

We have been experimenting with editing our first pieces of film, trying to discover techniques that express the incomprehensible and slightly ammusing elements of intense mathematical theory.
Hopefully there will be some visuals in my next entry.

Polarising test

Having got a polarising filter off ebay in anticipation of filming Iota outdoors, thought I should test it out. The image above is a composite of 2 video stills, the lower image is with the filter.
There's a short test video here.

Repitition of Real and Obvious movement

Another guise for the amorphic substance `The Fabric of the Universe`. To see this film, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aM3k4J8Hmag&feature=channel_page

A Pod in the Hand. To see the full piece of film.http://www.youtube.com/user/PhynodereeFilms or in HD go to

http://www.vimeo.com/4562324

Exploring the symbolic language of everyday non spiritual materials and the significance of their multiplication.The dual identity of the black crocheted piece in the hand as both `Pod` and `Black Hole` is interesting. I also like the concept of using banality as counterfiction to intense science theory.The Fabric of the Universe has been in many situations, recorded by photography and film . This is the first intense experiment, in film, to examine the nature of the textile itself. The sound in both films is the original ambient sound recorded during filming. I love the timing in the `Pods` editing , nice one Jake!

The Symbolic Language of Non Spiritual Materials.

Bonkers Frilly Hankie!
The piece of animation below was filmed with the kind permission of Oriel Myrddin Gallery, Carmarthen, Wales.
If using a well explored technique like stop frame animation , the holistic approach to original materials and their interpretation is essential. Although this piece of animation is interesting and amusing. it`s also visually very peculiar. As a technical experiment, it is a good `sketch book`, piece, but there are issues we need to address, we need to refilm. Jake has found some appropriate `green screen` cloth for filming, which will remove the intrusive back ground. (Although the circle of reflected natural light is something I would like to work with). We also need to address the phenomenological nature of the fabrics that the piece is made from, and put the concepts that describe the piece into context. Rather than gratuitously creating a perfunctory piece of animation , I feel that this is a piece that could be developed. That`s exciting!

Animated sequence using 99 images taken with Sony HVR-A1E video camera at Oriel Myrddin last Sunday afternoon.

Three Iota Pieces

`The Universe is an infinite sphere with it`s circumference nowhere and it`s centre everywhere`. - Pascal

http://www.vimeo.com/4431734

Here is a link to the the first three pieces of experimental film up on Vimeo . I hope that the project will consist of hundreds of short experimental clips , with some that will be valuable finished pieces. Some, I hope to project back onto pieces of textile, to explore the possibilities of movement and optical illusion , without direct reference to linear time.

`An Alexipharmac Draught.

Take Alexiterial Milk Water 3 ounces; Epidemial, compound peony water,

syrup of Gilly-flowers, Syrup of Saffron, each 2 drams, Diascordium, 2 scruples, Goa stone 1 scruple, mix.

In suspicious ill condition`d fevers, it raises and supports the drooping spirits from the Centre to the circumfrence`.

An old venitian cure from `Remedy`, Michelle Lovric.

Floating Iota.

Screen capture from HD video footage.
http://www.vimeo.com/4431734

Photo taken with camera mode on video camera

Photo taken with camera mode on video camera.

These are images taken from the first pieces of experimental film made for this project, with a Sony HVRA1E video camera and a centuary .65 HR wide angle lens.

Where to begin filming was the problem. Not location, that was at Abereifed Studios, where Jake has his practice. I find that,it is difficult to formally begin any creative project by saying now or here. When is the now and where is the here? However, you have to make a first mark some how, and after that initial first move, ideas usually begin to flow. Not dissimilar to beginning a painting or sculpting. Some pieces can emerge from a cumulitive ponderance, it has worked that way with recent crochet work. We had to have a physical beginning for the filming, a real time now moment.

As a couple of my textile pieces are in The Oriel Myrddin gallery at the moment, (if you want to see some of the exhibits, http://www.flickr.com/photos/birdlouise/sets/. ), and I`m still making a couple of experimental textile pieces, the `Iota` were the first piece to start examining as the subject.

The top image is two layers of film. The first layer is a film made with the camera panning slowly over the` Iota`. Simple but effective.The second layer, is of my hands filmed while crocheting, with a stationary camera. ( The still above looks slightly like I`m doing the washing up! )

We were able to review the footage continuosly as we filmed, on a TV screen. The fishing line that the `Iota` are crocheted from does wonderful things by absorbing and reflecting light and colour. I am really looking forward to seeing what wonders Jake will produce by editing.

Thinking About Patterns

Detail from a work in progress called Iota.

Peter Terren ,The Guardian 23-04-09.

The incredible image above is a photo of a newspaper cutting. It`s an Australian artist who built a Tesla coil and after insulating himself ,used his body in the position of Roden`s `Thinker`, as a conducter for the electric current. The beautiful blue white lines of electrical current form stunning patterns. (No pun intended). More inspiration for experiment with film and crochet!