Abstract

The challenge of recording any image is to capture the spirit of the subject matter, and drawing has the ability to capture both the physical and perceived. When travelling, the landscape assumes a different characteristic, the added dimension of movement through the land providing an animated perspective. The intimate connection of drawing the land is denied, yet the dynamic of movement is realised. In this project Middleton sought to combine the visual, physical and intellectual experience of travel in an attempt to locate a visual language that enables the management of non-linear thinking, together with conceptual and imagined aspects. In this context drawing addressed a question; it presented an ability to record the physicality of movement while at the same time reflecting the human experience. It is this issue that forms the central concern of the enquiry. The outputs confront movement in a way that the photography may, yet it is the point at which photography and the drawn line diverge that provided the point of focus. The divergence between the photographs provided a fluent framework to reflect abstracted and imagined elements. In this separation, the experiences that surround the journey directed the visual language. The photographic image promoted 3D and dynamic movement concerns through overlaying semi-transparent objects corrupted by movement. An archive of 3000 photographs forms the documentation of travel in North America and Europe, subsequently developed. in the studio and supported by sketches. The work led to an Arts Council funded exhibition in 2006. The direction of the time-based work was progressed to embrace broadcast interests with Central Television which received an AHRC award in 2007.