G. Houses for
In each case, these houses have an intended client. Each client has extensive responsibilities for an aspect of the world.
39 A House for the Empress of Air
In times past, the Empress traversed the air with her retinue and crew, surveying her realm. Over the last one hundred years her craft has been fitted at various times with filters and machinery for capturing atmospheric carbon and methane to sequester upon landing in an effort to save the humans of the planet from themselves. The task has escalated greatly beyond the capacities of her craft and, enfolded by sadness, she has abandoned her quest and left the equipment behind. She holds limited hope that many humans will do more than deny and dispute, although a percentage will emit less, and a few will actively reduce existing carbon. Now her lengthy voyages throughout her empire seem of little purpose. Her journeying is forlorn; her retinue reduced.
Whereas once they had regular balls, they now dress fairly informally for dinner and balls are events in their memories. Occasionally the Empress, or someone else on board, finds the enthusiasm to have a party and she maintains a regular schedule of concerts and recitals. An outstanding soprano is employed to sing the Four Last Songs of Richard Strauss. She is accompanied by a full orchestra in a concert on the main floor looking out the giant circular windows. Increasingly ‘Im Abendrot’ – At Sunset – the setting of Joseph von Eichendorff’s text which ends ‘… is this perhaps death?’ seems most apposite to the Empress.
Unlike prior models, this loosely employs a scale of 2500:1, for the craft is large. I had not long purchased modelling clay for an intended model where I planned to use it to form a mould for a papier-mâché light-weight roof for a (now probably) discarded idea. This was redeployed as a mould for an aerofoil section for the Empress. The laboriously produced section was later abandoned as of inferior quality and replaced with one carved from Huon Pine. My self-imposed constraint in this model was to employ materials from within the shed or from my house. Nothing new was purchased, not even adhesives. This was initially Covid-19 induced, but the model was so slow, we went in and out of lockdowns across its construction. It uses parts from an old printer, an ink cartridge, several collected items of forgotten origin and parts from several plastic car models, cotton thread, and adhesives. Conceived to be straight forward, this model endlessly gave me trouble; many parts were made or assembled, then abandoned, and replaced on both aesthetic grounds, and through my inability to make some envisioned elements at a satisfactory level. Visually and conceptually, this probably led to improvements, certainly simplifications and clarifications, but it was one of my most frustrating model-making experiences.
Base: 144mm x 112mm. Model: 160mm x 112mm. Height: 115mm.
Initiated: 21 September 2020. Constructed: 21 September 2020 – 7 July 2021.