Instruments of the Anemoi

Instruments of the Anemoi are a set of dodecagon tablets cast in Snowcrete, a non-magnetic cement, as used in buildings at a magnetic observatory. Suggestive of the pedestals that support various instruments used in monitoring the Earths’ magnetic field they also respond to an ancient anemoscope “table of the winds” carved in marble around eighteen hundred years ago. Envisaged here as speculative objects wrought by the wind gods, the first emissaries of navigation and orientation. 

1. Concrete, copper, water, silver leaf, repurposed telescope tripod. A ‘silver fish’ floating in water in a copper bowl is based on the oval shaped compass needle illustrated in Breve Compendio de la Sphera de la arte Navegar by Martin Cortes 1551 it also reflects on the use of wafer thin fish shaped iron leaves used by 11th century Chinese geomancers.
2. Concrete, magnets, iron filings, nails, repurposed theodolite tripod. Nails and iron filings reveal an embedded magnetic field and hark back to a legend on the discovery of the lodestone, a naturally magnetic mineral which recalls a Greek shepherd who noticed the nails in his boots were attracted to the rock beneath his feet. 
3. Concrete, etched and patinated copper, repurposed telescope tripod. Copper etched with images and names based on associations and attributes of the twelve Greek wind gods are set in a traditional compass rose.