Tom Baskeyfield

TOPOGRAPHICAL DISSECTION

2010-06-06T12:08:00.016+01:00

Topographical Dissection:

an exploration of the cartographic representation of place

An Introduction

For the past seven months I have been working in a studio in Bollington, a village to the north of Macclesfield. The studio is approximately three miles, in a geodesic line, from my house near the centre of Macclesfield. Once I had moved my things into the space I made a conscious decision to walk the journey from my home to my new studio and that that would be my primary mode of travel until I felt myself adequately acquainted with the journey and then I may use alternative methods of transport.

There are two main routes to Bollington on foot. One being the Middlewood Way, a path made along the old railway line that once linked Macclesfield and Bollington, the other being the canal. After walking both I decided that the canal route was much more interesting so used that path for the majority of the times I made the journey.

Home to Studio - Studio to Home 2009 - 2010

Photogram on tracing paper photocopy of OS map, ink and pencil

It had been my intention from the outset to use the journey between my home and studio as the source for work. Having made the walk I started to study its shapes on the Ordnance Survey map of the area. The canal stood out to be the mainline link between home and studio, so I focussed my attention there.

My journey spanned the equivalent of five one kilometre squares of the OS map. Through the squares my experience changed from the busy roads of town - people rushing around in their cars to get to the shops, work or to the doctors (there is a medical centre on my road) - to the canal where you notice a sudden change of pace, then back onto the road again into the hustle and bustle of a busy village.

Walking down the steps from the road to the canal...in those few feet you leave the rush behind you and join the relative quiet and calm of still water being gently disturbed by ducks swimming about and the air occasionally being filled with their "quacks" or the powerful glide of a heron looking for its next perch (my personal favourite). The canal offers you a slice of the countryside that you just don't get from the road, and walking offers you a pace that enables you to absorb it. (I should find a quote from Rebecca Solnit's 'Wanderlust: a History of Walking' to go here, but for now I will simply say find it and read it. Wonderful!)

Through the experiences of my early walks along the canal I became interested in the different features and uses of the land that surrounded it.

Town, Boundaries, Land

Photocopy of OS map, ink on tracing paper

I started to think about the layering of the place - town, fields/boundaries, the lie of the land - and how they all related. This became the heart of the work, and the map became the tool to use to explore it.

Town,

Boundaries,

Land

Photocopy of OS map, ink on tracing paper

IV (details)

2010-01-13T11:30:00.004Z

IV

2010-01-13T10:51:00.006Z

4 maxims, 4 artists, 4 works

This is a very belated post regarding the exhibition that was the culmination of a residency I worked alongside Julie Del'Hopital, Jessica Longmore and Sarah Sanders at Rogue Project Space over this past summer.

The work existed in response to the confines of this set of rules. The rules where democratically decided by the four of us with the intention that the final list would impose challenging restrictions on our practices.

Work by Julie Del'Hopital

Work by Jessica Longmore

Work by Sarah Sanders

Work by myself

Overview of the exhibition.

To access more information about Julie, Jessica, and Sarah's work please see the links to the right of this page.

BOUNDARY DISPLACEMENT

2009-09-29T12:09:00.010+01:00

Boundary Displacement is on show at the Chapel Gallery, Ormskirk until 31st October, as part of the exhibition, Unique Perspectives.

Boundary Displacement

Photograph on graph paper

27cmx32cm (individually framed)

FROM THERE TO HERE, FROM HERE TO THERE

2009-09-29T11:26:00.008+01:00

FROM THERE TO HERE, FROM HERE TO THERE (Exhibition at Red Gallery, Hull)

2009-08-26T13:56:00.010+01:00

I am currently exhibiting at the Red Gallery in Hull with Lee Machell.

BASKEYFIELD & MACHELL

an exhibition of sculpture, video and installation

15 August 2009 - 5 September 2009

FROM THERE TO HERE, FROM HERE TO THERE

framed digital prints, framed drawings (pen and ink, and sticky labels on tracing paper, mounted on off white paper)

white frames, framed map (map, tracing paper and sticky labels)

All framed images: 28cm x 35.5cm

White frames: 90cm x 100cm

For more information please go to the Red Gallery's website: www.red-gallery.com also, if you would like to see Lee's work please check his website: www.leemachell.co.uk.

8 of 16 works - Memory Maps

2009-01-26T15:00:00.012Z

The drawings and text that follow were made after and in response to the journeys and experiences I encountered on my way whilst working in the eight out door sites I selected for the work, 16 Frames, 16 Explorations (from there to here, from here to there)

Each drawing is a document of the physical journeys i made for each piece. They were made with my eyes closed, the pencil following the directions in my mind.

16/1/09

First work with the frames

Worked on the paddock underneath the Horse Chestnut tree(?) 16 frames was too many, so used 8. Became clear that I didn't need to use 16 frames for the work to remain valid. Composition ran from the fence. Strong vertical and horizontal lines.

Boden Street, Queen Victoria Street, Waters Green, Buxton Road, Barracks Lane, Higher Fence Road, Whitney Croft

16/1/09

Second work with the frames

Drove up to Longden Lane from Greenways. Whilst getting frames and photography equipment out of the car a man was walking his dog. He kept looking back to check on his dog, but also to check on me, I feel. He barely got out of sight, then just as I was about to climb into the field he was on his way back down the hill. We acknowledge one another as he passed me. I noticed that he lived in one of the houses facing the field, so to ease any uneasiness and to see if I could learn some local knowledge, I knocked on the door. He answered swiftly, as he had only just got in himself, I asked him if he knew who owned the the field. He told me it was owned by the owner of the house on the corner, a dentist he said. At this moment his wife appeared. A very pleasant and friendly person. After I explained my intentions in the field, they both became animated over a tree that resembled a finger pointing to the sky. The man related it to the death of his brother and that it was a sign to where he now was. The man smiled to himself after the comment, but it was clear that it gave him a sense of comfort. Touching. They said knock on the dentists door, so I did. No answer! I entered the field by the gate. Just out of the field stands a small stone building. I responded to that. Four frames used.

Longden Lane

16/1/09

Third work with the frames

Walked up along Longden Lane, then turned left on to an unnamed cobbled dirt track. A couple were walking in front of me, the lady kept turning round to take a look to see what was making the racket. I took eight frames with me. I passed a mature lady walking a dog. She was friendly, "I hope you don't have to go far with those", she said. "Just to the end of the road, and back", I replied. I got to the end of that stretch of road a few minutes later. I worked on a dirt track off the main dirt track, which leads to: Middlehills Gate. I was watched by three horses at first. Two soon left. The one that stayed had a beautiful brown coat with a white smudge on his forehead. He, maybe she, was very inquisitive, trying to eat the frames that I lent on the wall. I made the work, then after packing up gave him some seeds. A lovely creature. The work responded to the wall and the road.

Longden Lane, Unnamed cobbled dirt track leading to Middlehills Gate, Longden Lane

16/1/09

Fourth work with the frames

Walked down Longden Lane, across Buxton Old Road and up the unnamed road leading to Eddisbury Hall and Eddisbury Park Field. I took eight frames with me. When I reached Eddisbury Park Field, the gate was shut. I quickly opened it and stepped into the field, closing it switly behind me. I walked straight to the little wooded area I had visited before. The ground was soden in places, but in general firmer than my first visit. I worked in the middle of the little wood, in between a Beech and a Poplar tree. After completing the work I decided to explore a little further. I edged around the side of the little wood, heading around the back of a fenced off, over grown pond. As soon as I made a step down the bank a hare came bolting out of no where running as fast as it could until it felt safe I was not going to catch him. A wonderful sight. The composition worked as a response to the positioning of the trees and the four sides of the gallery space.

Longden Lane. Buxton Old Road, Unnamed road, Eddisbury Park Field, Unnamed road, Buxton Old Road, Longden Lane.

19/1/09

Fifth work with the frames

Drove from Boden Street up to Blakelow Road, frames still loaded in the car from the previous Friday. Managed to park in the field I planned to work in. I stepped out of the car, walked over to the wall and surveyed the field with slight trepidation. That feeling is always there when accessing private land. "Sod it!" I thought, got eight frames out of the car, threw them in the field and jumped straight in to follow. My path was straight down the valley. I lay the frames down and got to work. The composition was made in response to the valley, echoing it's slight twist and turn. Chris rang while I was photographing the frames. I arranged to pick him up once I had completed this work and the next one in the field round the corner. I thought I might walk across the fields, but I abandoned the idea due to there being a lot of sheep and that it would have been more hassle really. Finished the work and went back to the car.

Boden Street, Queen Victoria Street, Waters Green, Buxton Road, Buxton Old Road, Blakelow Road.

19/1/09

Sixth work with the frames

Set off to the next site on Blakelow Road. Tried to park opposite the field, but the road was too narrow. Turned round, drove up the road and parked on the corner. Took four frames from the car and walked the pavement to the field. I waited a few minutes mulling over where to enter the field. I thought of using the gate, but the NO TRESPASSING sign spooked me a bit, so I thought it better to just jump in and get on with it. So I did. The composition of the work took its form from the crumbled dry stone wall that lay through the expanse of the field. I worked quickly with the sound of a tractor rumbling away in another field that put me on edge. Once back over the wall and on the pavement I realised how channelled our movements are by roads and pavements and tracks, and that to jump free of those restrictions is incredibly liberating. I then got back in the car and set off to pick up Chris.

Blakelow Road.

19/1/09

Seventh work with the frames

Picked Chris up and headed to the Hollins. Together we took all sixteen frames, eight each. The weather remained dry, but the wind was icy; we talked about how we liked the fresh feeling, even thriving off it. We got to the site, the undercover reservoir. No body around. I had planned the work here from my first visit to the site, so got straight to it. The composition of the work took its form from the concrete and steel (?) towers that poked up from the grass. It is a strange sight seeing grass take on such a man-made, geometric shape. We gathered up the frames, taking all sixteen, ready to move to the next and final site.

Blakelow Road, Buxton Old Road, Buxton Road, Cranford Avenue, Brookfield Lane, Black Road, Black Street, Gunco Lane, Byron Street, London Road, Cross Street, Mill Lane, Park Street, Park Lane, Ivy Lane, Box Tree Meuss, Ivy Lane, Park Lane, Sunderland Street, Brook Street, Sweetenham Street, Bank Street, Black Road, Windmill Street, Hollins Road, The Hollins.

19/1/09

Eighth work with the frames

We walked up from the covered reservoir with the sixteen frames. We decided to take a very slight detour along the golf course path to avoid a very muddy area of the public footpath. To get back to the public footpath we had to work our way through a small wood that divided the two. Once back on the path we headed immediately through a metal gate into the expanse of the next field, the final site. By now the wind had picked up, but it remained dry. We made our way to the brow of the hill, and lay the frames down. Visibility was poor, which scuppered my initial compositional idea of a response to the telecommunications tower, however the hills were still visible, and the houses also; the hills in particular shouting out their importance. The composition became a response to them. Once the work was done, we gathered up the frames and headed back to the car. Once back in the car, the skies opened with sleet and rain. We remained dry.

The Hollins (not far from Birch Knoll)

All drawings pencil on paper

Geodesic Endeavour

2008-12-05T17:38:00.012Z

Geodesic Endeavours 1 - 4

pen and sticky labels on tracing paper on heavy weight paper

(A series of drawings developed from and as apart of the investigation into 16 Frames, 16 Explorations)

Geodesic of geodesy

Geodesy study of shape and area of the earth

Geodesic Line shortest possible line on surface between two points

(Oxford Compact Dictionary and Thesaurus)

16 Frames, 16 Explorations (From There To Here, From Here To There)

2008-12-05T11:50:00.030Z

Inside

The dimensions of the floor in Room 1 of the Red Gallery in Hull are, 360cm x 455cm. Taking it down to tens from hundreds, and rounding the number to a whole number, the dimensions are, 36 x 46. 3 + 6 = 9, 4 + 6 = 10. 9 x 10 = 90, 10 x 10 = 100. 90cm x 100cm are the dimensions of each of the 16 frames.

1 gallery space, 16 frames, 16 explorations.

The frames resemble a space, their dimensions taken from that space, they are born of that space. A frame works as a focussing tool, a view finder if you like; a frame focusses the eye, focusses the mind. I intend to use the frames to focus exploration of my home town.

Outside

I have recently moved back to my home town, Macclesfield, a mill town that made it's money from the silk industry. Macclesfield is situated to the west of the Peak District and expresses the contrast of old industrial buildings with great natural beauty.

I have lived the majority of my life in this town, but have been in flux moving between it and Manchester for the last five years. On my return this time I felt I knew little of it, especially it's rurality, and felt a strong urge to explore, to discover and forge a new relationship with an old and familiar, yet surprisingly unknown place.

Mapping

On page 4, grid reference 4,B to 4,C of the Kingston Upon Hull AtoZ, Osborne Street can be found. The Red Gallery is located at number 19, Osborne Street. On page 40, grid reference 4,B to 4,C of the Macclesfield AtoZ you will find Macclesfield golf course - The Hollins. On Friday 21st November, 8 sites where selected in and around this area. The sites where restricted by the use of a frame laid over the top of the map which expressed, in centimetres, the pre-calculated dimensions of the frame (9cm x 10cm). Rural locations were my focus.

Presentation

In the time between now and the exhibition at Red Gallery I will take the 16 frames out to each of the 8 sites selected. At each of these sites I will measure out the actual gallery space dimensions and within that area create a site-responsive composition using the 16 frames. Each composition will be photographed from the same angle. Once in the gallery space I will recreate the exterior works and photograph them. All photographs will be taken from the same angle, the corner in which I imagine I will be standing once inside the gallery space.

The 16 photographs will be shown along with the 16 frames.

Art as a tool for exploration.

Artranspennine 08

2008-07-16T10:36:00.000+01:00

Hello and welcome to my blog, and this, my first post.

What follows are images taken during the exploration of a work entitled 5 Forms, 5 Sites, 5 Explorations, which took place from 13/6/08 - 4/7/08 for the exhibition, Artranspennine 08. The work was conceived in collaboration with Simon Wess, under the name WessandBaskeyfield, but for the most part was worked through by myself. Below is an extract from a body of text included in a booklet we created to accompany our endeavours:

'On Friday 13th June, in the hub of Manchester City Centre, our journey begins. from this point we will work for the next four consecutive weeks in four different locations forming four corners of a rectangle surrounding the Greater Manchester area and beyond. we will be working in familiar and unfamiliar surroundings, but viewing all with openness to creative potential. Our path will take us in a clockwise direction moving from North, to East, to South, to West...'

From the beginning of our journey in Manchester City Centre we then worked in Rishton, off Junction 7 of the M65, Torside, the Pennines and Ecton Hill, Macclesfield.

Works

White Forms, Manchester City Centre, Friday 13th June

Sheet, Rishton, Junction 7 off the M65