LANDLINES: Drawing beyond the page
 Aerial view of Gunpowder Park's 'Blast Mound Plateau' which inspired Landlines by Simon Lee Dicker | Haring Woods Studio (formerly Landscape+Arts Network Services) and Lee Valley Regional Park Authority commissioned artist Simon Lee Dicker to create the Park's first Big Draw project.
“My particular interest in the National Grid was born out of its absolute disregard for the specifics of any particular landscape. It is not concerned if it divides meadow, lake or farm.
Using the National Grid allows the placement of the drawing to be dictated by existing factors and encourages the use of areas that might otherwise be overlooked. This will promote exploration of the Park beyond the existing paths and encourage a broader engagement with the environment”.
Simon Lee Dicker
‘Landlines’ uses hidden geological and geographical lines of significance to create an earthwork that covers the 255 acres of Gunpowder Park and takes drawing beyond the page. The work promotes contemplation of:
• Art, Science and Nature
• Mark making and how drawings relate to a real environment
• Orientation and navigation through the use of GPS technology
• The impact of ephemeral/ transient art on the environment
‘Landlines’ is a physical representation of the British National Grid drawn directly onto the surface of Gunpowder Park as a series of 20m2 crosses or ‘hotspots’ located 100 meters apart.
Looking at Gunpowder Park from the air or from the preliminary drawings the land will be divided up by ‘hotspots’ that add a regularity and uniformity to the site. From the ground the marks will act as subtle interventions rather than grandious statements, undulating with the surface of the park and differing in appearance depending on their specific locations.
Research and explorations into the site revealed a multitude of scientific, mathematical and technical drawings illustrating different aspects of Gunpowder Park. All of this information, such as contour lines, the Meridian Line and the National Grid related aspects of the landscape constructed by scientists to help us understand our surroundings.
| Materials and Methods of production | | The ‘hotspot’ locations were found with a Global Positioning System (GPS) which locates your position via satellites to accurately place you in the landscape. The use of GPS encourages exploration of Gunpowder Park beyond the existing paths.
By removing areas of wild grass, plants and flowers from these locations marks will be created without the addition of any alien materials. This method of production allows the drawing to cover large areas of the Park without leaving a permanent mark.
The interpretation of these land-drawings varied according to the perspective of the observer and the way in which they encountered the work.
The casual observer, with no knowledge of the project would not be aware of the scale of the land drawing and would encounter the individual marks as anonymous interventions evoking a questioning of why the marks are there and what they represent.
Project participants and visitors to the exhibition had an entirely different understanding of the work, seeing the land-drawings as both physical interventions and as abstract marks represented through the drawings shown at the Field Station.
School workshops
Organised in collaboration with LVRPA’s Youth & Schools Dept. The work in schools consisted of an introduction to Gunpowder Park, a presentation about the project and practical drawing workshops based on links between Art, Science and Nature, mark making and how drawings relate to a real environment, orientation and navigation through the use of GPS technology and the impact of ephemeral / transient art on the environment.
Production Workshops
Local community groups, schools, residents and colleges were invited to participate in the production of the on site sculptural interventions. The workshops included an introduction to the park / project as well as helping to create the final piece.
Open Workshops
Simon Lee Dicker worked from the Field Station during the week prior to October 16th.
Special thanks to LVRPA’s Country Parks Manager, Ian Kendall and the Lee Valley Rangers who greatly assisted Landscape+Arts Network Services and Simon Lee Dicker in the realisation of Landlines.
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