Vita  W - M

The ‘l’ of Beacon Hill
Installation + Accompanying Book

A site specific installation creating a to-scale ‘l’ on a hillside in East Sussex from a 1936 map.

The disparity between the static map and the ever changing place began to interest me. The environments we inhabit are constantly evolving and as it does there becomes a conflict between the realities of a place and how it is presented on maps. As sites change maps are discarded, this project acknowledges the flux of the world we inhabit and how throughout history we have documented it. 

Inspiration for this project came from an exercise in collecting and trying to navigate through contemporary settings using out-of-date maps. Drawn to the placement of graphical features on maps, the inspiration for the final installation came from the glyphs which hover over the land. After looking at all my countless maps I decided to focus on the lowercase ‘l’ of ‘Beacon Hill’ in Rottingdean in square 03 x 37 of the ‘“One Inch’ Ordanace Survey Map of Eastbourne - Sheet 183’ (1936). The final letter would measured roughly 63.3 meters long across the hillside. The installation was made out with red tape and fence posts. Inspired by the active role of the cartographer I wanted to create something physical which would make people aware of the georgraphy of the site and the way the place they were passing though has been depicted in maps. I wanted my letter to be raised off the ground as if it was printed in the air as it is on the map. The form came to life on the blustery hill, shaking and waving as it came into contact with the elements.

A book was also created documenting the research, process and installation (due to its fleeting nature on the hillside).