Harry Chrystall

'Inklings' are a series of works inspired by the 19th century amateur physicist Leon Foucault. Foucault was able to prove for the first time the rotation of the earth by observing the apparent changing trajectory of a pendulum. In accord with Newton's first law, that an object will not change its motion unless a force acts on it, Foucault was able to deduce that the apparently changing trajectory of the swinging pendulum could only be as a result of the ground's movement beneath, and so that of planet itself.

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Renacting this experiment myself and experiencing first hand the arresting shift of perspective illustrated by the pendulum I became more and more fascinated by the sense of unfamiliarity, both physical and intellectual, we have to the conditions so inseperably involved in our living experience.

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By adapting my studio to house a 20 foot pendulum whose 5 kg weight I cast in lead and fitted with a stylus I have been able to explore these ideas and translate this ever present yet intangible experience into a series of drawings.