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| All Images: Entrance Locks, Bristol Floating Harbour, April 2019- June 2023 |
Here, amongst the plates, territory has been systematically annexed. The methodology is both cast iron and set in stone. Four-square beats prevailed on the journey down, and we are captivated by the poetics of insertion. All the plates are similar in that the upper surface is patterned with rows of small square blocks within a plain border. They encompass a tesseract of elements. Oxidisation is inevitable and geological time accelerates accordingly. Weather systems are entered into a spreadsheet of quivering light. Our records show that, previously, there was a dark ledger - with each triangular cargo packed tight. The third beat is a legacy, twice displaced. An elevated viewpoint indicates how the necessary colonisation might operate through cartographic shading. Original sets of plates were recorded by the Ordnance Survey at 1:500 scale where, confusingly, they were hatched in the manner of built structures.
In this region our progress is constrained by a ductile geometry associated with the hydraulic operating system for the lock gates and sluices. The flows are directed and there is both a channelling and harnessing beneath the plane (porous space). Water acts upon small gun metal pistons in cylinders, which set in motion the gear of the particular machine acted upon. The machines of projection and reflection are of prime importance but many other such devices can operate in chains of affect. They may be recognised on the ground because the stone blocks surrounding them are fixed together with butterfly-shaped iron cramps or ties. Flush with the quay surface are perforated circular plates covering air shafts. The diameter of the pipes conveying the water round the system varies but is mostly 7 inches. Some of the plates have slots for operating levers. Since liquids generally are virtually incompressible, it is possible to develop very high pressures with almost no reduction in their volume (pressure drop). Repression is thus rendered futile. Despite the best efforts of the engineers, our charts and geo-positioning have led us to an empire of obsolescence.
There will be a presumption in favour of preserving any archaeological features or sites of notional importance, whether scheduled or not. The surface is fragile, and narratives may bend or crack. A suitable strategy has been put forward to mitigate the impact (no vehicles on steel plates). Provision for adequately recording the site prior to destruction is made, to allow essential recording and publication to take place. Notes, drawings and measurements were made, and 35mm black and white and digital colour photographs taken. Many rolls of film were archived in negative form. Polyrhythmic accounts are overlaid in historical counterpoint, and time flows in accordance with the tides. Previously, there had been an archaeological watching brief during preparatory geotechnical investigations, and observations made in a range of weather conditions have been documented. A geotechnical borehole was drilled to a depth of 16.90m, but no solid geology was encountered. Memorialists submit they are entitled to such relief as the city authorities can afford.
