from this position, sightlines extended
Hypothetical calculations, printed and distributed, 2012, 2020 (with support from Dr Paul Balnaves).
From This Position, Sightlines Extended is work in hypothetical calculations of spatial positions translated into a conceptual framework created in 2012, and expanded in 2020. The 2012 version of the work was printed and distributed in Melbourne, Australia. In this hypothetical trigonometry and embodied measurement is used a basis to translate spatial calculation into a performative act without performance.
Set within a minimal, interior, windowless space, the work begins with a simple premise: a person, seated in a chair at the centre of a room, determines their location relative to the room using sightlines to corners and the doorframe. The process follows principles outlined in trigonometric geometry, relying on visual measurements of angles formed by the relationships between the chair, visible walls, and the room’s structural features. By imagining lines connecting these points, the work constructs a system defined by bodily perception and logic.
The protagonist measures angles through arm spans, finger-widths, and approximated tangents to calculate relationships between themselves and the room’s elements. The results are inherently provisional, exposing the fallibility of human measurement in contrast to the mathematical ideal. Each recalculation follows a deliberate movement of the chair, resetting the system and requiring a new configuration of sightlines and angles. This cyclical process mirrors the recursive nature of geometry itself, where each step builds upon previous observations while challenging the precision of earlier assumptions. The room is thus continually redefined, becoming a space shaped by iterative gestures and relational dynamics
The work aligns with Lefebvre’s concept of lived space, critiquing the abstraction of Cartesian systems and emphasises the experiential, subjective dimensions of spatial practice. In From This Position, Sightlines Extended space is not merely measured but produced through interaction and negotiation. The calculated positions are provisional, contingent on the physical limitations of the body and the variability of perception. By grounding geometry in lived experience, the work challenges the rigidity of mathematical abstraction, revealing the fluid and contingent nature of spatial understanding. The hypothetical space, stripped of conventional reference points and rendered a blank architectural shell, becomes a site of negotiation between physical structure and human presence. The sightlines, though invisible, are rendered perceptible through the calculations and movements, bridging the abstract logic of trigonometry with the sensory immediacy of the body.
By transforming the mathematical act of positioning into an aesthetic and performative exploration, the work reimagines spatial practice as an ongoing dialogue between structure and subjectivity.
Thank you to Dr Paul Balnaves for assistance is creating a framework of re-thinking the expanded 2020 version.