Archives, Marine Terrace
Wolff's carbon pencil, conte and paraloid B67 on hardwood ply
702 x 1221 x 9mm, Rorik Smith, 2012
180 x 180' octahedral panorama, drawn on location, sight size at working distance standing of 16 inches from the picture plane horizon.
Investigating and recording the character of the reading room at the Ceredigion County Archives formerly Queens Hotel, Aberystwyth, prior to their relocation to a new building. Amid broader questions about the value and identity of physical archives and their significance to a changing society. The method employed could be said to involve relating empirical observations as visual propositions in a synthetic analytical framework, rendered in an evocative, direct and decidedly subjective handling.
Library, Corporation St.
Wolff's carbon pencil, conte and paraloid B67 on hardwood ply
702 x 1221 x 9mm, Rorik Smith, 2012
The composition, executed on site, prior to the relocation of the town library, is calculated to disorient, to convey a sense of uncertainty, while retaining a sense of sublime and overwhelming awe felt when faced with the sheer volume of information which libraries contain. Aiming to encapsulate the opportunity, absurdity and ultimate futility of attempting to make sense of it all. With reference to Borges;
"The Universe (which others call the Library) is composed of an indefinite, perhaps infinite number of hexagonal galleries... from any hexagon one can see the floors above and below" Borges, the Library of Babel, 2000, from Collected fictions, translated by Andrew Hurley, 1998.
Ex Libris Old College
Wolff's carbon pencil, conte and linseed oil on hardwood ply
702 x 1221 x 9mm, Rorik Smith, 2011
Purpose built to house the library of Aberystwyth University since its inception, but long superseded by new libraries with better facilities on the main campus. The ornate, eclectic and enigmatic space, though devoid of books, retains its atmosphere, still serving as a silent study area. Its hand crafted empty shelves act as a potent cathode to new questions, while the cavernous wood clad barrel vaulting continues to induce the aspiration intended by its architect. The images below chart the development of the projection employed, strikingly similar to the Cahill Butterfly map. Picture wire was attached to each vanishing point, allowing rapid projection by intersection upon multiple axes, while retaining an organic quality of line.
Studio, West Classroom
Distemper on canvass
425 x 290mm, Rorik Smith, 2010
Ten point perspective, total view, painted on site, by eye,
exploring the advantages of a trichromatic palette and radiant, form-following trattegio hatching.
Self referential reportage obliquely addressing the issue of underpopulated studios in Art departments.
Representing an initial departure into multiple point perspectives as pioneered by Dick Termes, resulting from attempting to answer the question; what happens when you put a vanishing point at each corner of an equilateral triangle?
work / panoramic
slideshow
wolff's carbon pencil, conte & paraloid B67 on hardwood ply, 702 x 1221 x 9mm, Rorik Smith, 2012.
wolff's carbon pencil, conte and paraloid B67 on hardwood ply, 702 x 1221 x 9mm, Rorik Smith, 2011.
distemper on canvas, 425 x 290mm Rorik Smith, 2010
adobe illustrator, Rorik Smith, 2012
adobe illustrator, Rorik Smith, 2012.
graphite on arches ingres 80gsm, 160 x 282mm, Rorik Smith, 2012.
A dynamic approach exploiting the robustness of perspective in a raking view combined with an intimate viewing distance, afforded by situating the work in the corridor of the School of Art. The cabinet opposite displays a range of artifacts employed in the development and execution of the work.
adobe illustrator, Rorik Smith, 2012.
adobe illustrator, Rorik Smith, 2012.
graphite on detail paper mounted on paper 613 x 410mm, Rorik Smith, 2012. A working drawing, enabling horizontal angles to be taken directly from the plan, while vertical angles in the elevation apply only to the vertical plane which contains the 'principal ray' in the plan. Vertical angles in all other planes are obtained by finding the true length of the line of sight to the point in question.
steel wire, masking tape, 254 x 254 x 200mm, Rorik Smith, 2011. Looking for latitudes.
pencil & ink on cartridge paper, 350 x 600 mm, Rorik Smith, 2011. Latitudes Treated as nesting conic sections, auxiliary view establishes true length.
adobe illustrator, Rorik Smith, 2011. Snap to. Ten degree intervals of both latitude and longitude enable angles measured by eye, compass or taken from plans to be transferred directly to the picture.
ink jet print on 180gsm photopaper, 200 x 80 x 80mm, Rorik Smith, 2011. From the bottom up; harmonic recession, estimated latitudes, three mutually perpendicular sets of paralells at regular intervals & an accurate projection with rhumb lines.
skylight continues to battle with the throbbing fluorescents inside the studio as the late afternoon sun dips below the even, light cloud cover, momentarily saturating the crumbling sandstone of the windows with its warm but fleeting embrace. Also, an easel, in a highly developed state of anticipation.
coloured pencil on arches ingres 80 gsm. 330 x 260mm, Rorik Smith, 2010. Each vanishing point is perpendicular to both the others, so each side of the triangle contains 90 degrees. Harmonic subdivision of each equilateral triangle gives an appearance of recession towards the horizon, direct observations are superimposed upon this, subdivided by eye and evaluated for continuity.
coloured pencil on arches ingres 80 gsm. 330 x 260mm, Rorik Smith, 2010. Sequential application of yellow, blue then red, enables vigorous and decisive form to be selectively and methodically reinforced while affording opportunity of attending to local and incident colour in a relative manner, capable of greater refinement than seen here.
distemper, on canvass, 425 x 290 mm, Rorik Smith, 2010.