'We began by studying the vernacular landscape of highway signage surrounding the site and other nearby influences such as the Peace Arch Monument which was created to celebrate the Treaty of Gent. The structure acts as a type of portal between nations and was built early last century. We decided early on not to attempt to address any international political issues directly given the loaded nature of the site and anxiety surrounding all things visa and immigration. Instead we choose to study the nature of commercial trade across borders, advertising and highway auto-based culture. Employing the same habituation that billboards use to draw attention away from the landscape, we turned the effectiveness of the rectangular framing device against itself to refocus attention back toward the atmosphere and potency of the landscape shared across borders. Rather than build a billboard outright, we employed a technique to approximate with pencil strokes the atmosphere around a solid object. In doing so we could concentrate attention on the absence more than the presence. This also has the effect of appearing at the edge of perception and creates both a barrier and an aperture simultaneously – which mirrors the prime border crossing experience.'
Can you explain how the concept developed into the ‘billboard’ that we see today?, Interview with Alison Copley
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research related to my paperclip forms, looking at accumulation, density, shape (alluding to shadows, negative space, etc.)
- this one reminds me of a swarm in a way. A swarm of bees in old cartoons would often form shapes to give them expression
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