The geometry works with four rules:

Firstly, the top member of all the triangles are the same length.

The angle of the member and lengths of the two other members are defined by three graphs:

The centre of the top member is defined by a single arc. This member is curved in section to emphasise it’s swishing, swinging movement.

The position of the foot, where each triangle touches the ground, is defined by a double arc which begins in the same place as the single arc but ends opposite it.

The affects of these two graphs can be seen clearly from a plan view.

The third graph, again a double arc, dictates the angle of the top member. The view from the side reveals how this graph moves the members up, down, up, down. The interacting graphs define each triangle, and the triangles each occupy consecutive positions on the graphs, thereby creating a sinuous, undulating movement.

Goodwood

Fleeting Bench,
Cass Sculpture Foundation

with Wilfred Cass CBE, Cass Sculpture Foundation (ongoing)

This bench is made from 71 individual triangles, each incrementally different from the last creating a shimmering, rippled surface. The structure whisks along the ground in one line, sweeping the landscape as if left as the trace of some fleeting movement.

The inside triangles are visible as a void inside, defined by but different from the outside form. This would be appreciated in a solid material through the gaps between the triangles but is most apparent in a transparent or translucent material.

Employing a few simple graphs to define a form is a way to make something complex from straightforward elements – a way to derive something that might otherwise not be conceived of. A graph, like a stroke drawn by a pencil, is a gesture. When the gesture is credible, it can be transferred to and expressed in other forms that we can respond to with our common-sense intuitive understanding of forces and potential movement.