j.frede : Drawn At Sea

(Originally Published August 2014)

Since man learned how to capture the wind he has sat out across the open seas,,,, chasing the horizon,,,, looking for new lands and all things unknown. A great deal of what we know about the Natural world came from the early explorers and naturalists that sailed around the globe documenting new species and recording their travels in journals which were later published for others to read spawning new expeditions or at the very least spawned dreams in landlocked citizens of their home port.

In 2014 very little remains unseen, few if any waters are uncharted and most anyone, landlocked or not, can spend hours on Google maps exploring far of islands from a birds eye view, following the coastlines, scrolling from one continent to another.

But like the earliest sailors, scientists and artists that boarded the large ships during the age of sail, WE have yet to see everything, many waters remain uncharted to US. Now such discoveries exist purely on a personal level, for those willing to leave behind comfort and ease and search out destinations we have only read about or seen as images in books.

Long past is the time since Hadley and Godfrey each invited the octant half a world apart or when Charles Darwin marveled at the mysterious life on the Galapagos Islands. Their instrument remains on naval ships even today and his discoveries forever changed the way we perceive life. Yet there are still things to be discovered,,,
If only just for us.

During the first week of September I will set sail aboard the Selkie through the Northern Isles of Scotland as an Artist in Residence with The Clipperton Project. I have designed and created a simple drawing machine inspired by the Harmonograph drawing machines of the 19th century. My machine, titled Drawn At Sea, will create drawings of and by the Sea. Each drawing will last 24 hours and will be a journal of the days movements. We will sail from Kirkwall Scotland to Papa Westray and back. By the end of the voyage we will have a complete record of the ships movement on sea for everyday I was aboard.

I will also be keeping written journals, taking photographs and making videos during the voyage, these will be published regularly to my blog on The Huffington Post allowing anyone around the world a glimpse at the expedition. Upon arriving in Papa Westray we will work with the organization Landart Papay Westray before returning to the Selkie to sail south returning to Kirkwall

Many of us see the romance in chasing the past even as the world moves forward and us with it. There is life to live even if in old ways.
Let us always be amazed.

j.frede – 2014