Daniel Whitlock
Collagraph and block print on paper
21cm x 30cm
Title: High Down
The work pays tribute to the monumental features and history of the High Down Rocket Test Site at The Needles on the Isle of Wight, whilst keeping a sense of the coastal landscape it was hidden within.
With the concept of modern ruins, internal structures and architectural footprints remain but the literal ‘outside’ of a structure is no more. The High Down site has concrete walkways between the two testing gantries, the foundations and the underground control bunkers remain, the dominant feature of the landscape - the testing gantries themselves - are no longer present. There is a tangible empty physical space where they used to be.
“I have a personal connection to this landscape because my Grandfather worked on the British rocketry and space programme his entire career and spent time conducting static engine tests at this facility.”
Katherine Jones RE produced a series of works Inside is Dry Land which depict framed structures often in coastal and eroded settings, which has obvious parallels with my subject. She constructs prints overlaying relief/block printing over ethereal collagraph-printed backgrounds which were both inspirational and influential in developing this work.
“ The OFCAD programme has opened my eyes to the breadth of potential artistic practices available. Producing this series of final works has only been possible as a result of my experiences on this course, the input of fellow students and through the tutelage of the artists we’ve been privileged to have had access to.
I’m very proud of what I have been able to achieve on this programme. I leave it excited and looking forward to what I can achieve with my artistic practice in the future ”