Layla Curtis

Traceurs: to trace, to draw, to go fast is a collection of twenty black and white films, created using a thermal imaging camera, which capture a series of moments in which traceurs (practitioners of parkour) come into physical contact with the urban fabric. The camera, which sees the world in terms of temperature rather than light, makes visible the glowing white heat residue transferred from hands, fingers and feet onto the surfaces that the traceurs nimbly leap onto, run across and spring off. 

The films are screened simultaneously as part of a multi channel video installation.

Related publication: Traceurs: to trace, to draw, to go fast with essay by Richard Grayson

Commissioned by Westminster City Council.

Kielder Water & Islands is a collaged map combining a contemporary map of Kielder Water with a map of the valley before it was dammed and flooded. On the new map a series of 'islands' are created from the 14 communities that existed before Kielder Water was opened in 1982.

Kielder Water & Islands was produced as an edition of 10,000 folded, printed maps with slipcase co-designed with Fraser Muggeridge studio and distributed free to visitors to Kielder Water & Forest Park. 

Developed by The Kielder Partnership: The Calvert Trust, The Environment Agency, Forestry Commission, Northumberland County Council, Northumbrian Water, Tynedale Council & Community Groups.

Every minute for one year, the images transmitted from two webcams, each at opposite ends of the planet, were captured and compiled to create the timelapse work 78 Degrees North, 67 Degrees South.

Beginning on the southern hemisphere's longest day (and subsequently the northern hemisphere's shortest day), the two videos are viewed side by side tracking the contrasting seasons and extreme weather conditions at these diametrically opposite locations.

Real time images of the Antarctic landscape, transmitted from a live webcam installed at an Antarctic research station 67 degrees south, are projected onto a miniature screen inside a snowdome in the work 67 Degrees South.

67 Degrees South was commissioned by National Glass Centre on the occasion of the 2007 Sunderland Winter Festival.

Sky Drawings (Night, Day) is a two channel video projection depicting the traces left by aeroplanes as they cross a particular section of sky. One projection shows lingering vapour trails gradually obliterating a blue cloudless sky, while the other shows a collection of red, green and white blinking aeroplane lights against the night's sky. Projected simultaneously onto a double sided screen the night and day footage cannot be seen at the same time.

Related publication: A Congregation of Vapours, with essay by David Barrett

Sky Drawings (Night, Day) was commissioned by VIVID and supported by the Henry Moore Foundation.

Crevasse is a two channel video installation depicting a gradual assent out of an Antarctic crevasse. The assent, captured simultaneously on two cameras (one downward facing and one upward facing), is replayed in the gallery space - the footage from the downward facing camera is projected onto the floor while the footage from the upward facing camera is projected onto ceiling.

Horizon (Port, Starboard) is a two channel video projection depicting the moving horizon line filmed simultaneously from opposite sides of an ice-strengthened ship. As the ship propels forward and rolls from port to starboard the horizon rises and falls within the two window frames – one horizon falling exactly as the other rises. 

Layla Curtis spent three months in Antarctica carrying out an extensive psycho-geographical exploration and creating a continuous line drawing charting her journey.

Longitudinal and latitudinal data recorded on a personal GPS tracking system was logged on the project website to create a 27,856 mile long, interactive web based drawing embedded with photographs and drawings.  

A suite of 10 limited edition screen prints, focusing on specific points and incidents along the line were also produced.

Layla Curtis was awarded an Arts Council England International Fellowship to Antarctica jointly sponsored by The British Antarctic Survey. This project was developed in collaboration with Locus+.

NewcastleGateshead is a collaged map complied from regional namesakes taken from city maps worldwide. Place names from a number of countries including Australia, Canada, Jamaica and Ireland are juxtaposed to create an alternative map of North East England. 

30,000 copies of the double sided, folded print version of NewcastleGateshead were distributed free across the UK to coincide with NewcastleGateshead Festival of the Visual Arts 2006.

Additionally the collage was reproduced as a limited edition Gicléé print using archival inks on Somerset 250gsm velvet enhanced paper. Signed edition of 35.

Commissioned by Locus+

Souvenirs from Manchester is a collection of over 300 souvenirs, each emblazoned with the word 'Manchester', collected by the artist during a ten day journey by Greyhound bus to a selection of the forty-one places in the USA named Manchester.

The installation of souvenirs was commissioned by UMIM and exhibited in Fabrications at CUBE, Manchester, UK.

Cab Routes One Week in London traces the routes made by cab driver Jason Brown as he ferried passengers across London during a specific week. Created before GPS navigation systems were commonplace in London taxis, the artists asked the cab driver to keep a record of his journeys using a red felt tip pen to draw onto photocopied maps of the city. The resulting lines are animated to create a one minute drawing.

Cab Routes One Week in London was commissioned by Cab Gallery - a project curated by Paul Stolper and Jason Brown.

www.cabgallery.com