MICHAEL WHITTLE
Drawing | 2013-2017
(Temple roof diagrams with two point interference patterns and debris)
Sketches for the drawing ‘Two Large Waves’ were started in the immediate aftermath of the 2011 following the Great East Japan Earthquake. Following the quake, tsunami waves of up to 40 metres in height left 18,000 people dead or missing, the quake being powerful enough to move the entire island of Japan 2.4 m to the east, and shift the Earth on its axis by between 10 and 25 cm. The power of the quake also increased earth's rotational speed by 1.8 microseconds per day, enough for all satellites to have to be recalibrated. The entire planet was left ringing like a bell for weeks afterwards. Finally completed in 2018, the two large wave-shaped structures in the drawing are derived from intricate architectural diagrams of temple roof structures. These are connected by networks of lines to clouds of debris above, and a circular landscape of troughs and crests below, which resemble constructive and destructive wave interference patterns.
Size
71 x 58 inches - Framed
Materials
Ink, pencil and watercolour on paper
Authenticity
Hand signed by the artist
Two Large Waves
MICHAEL WHITTLE
Drawing | 2013-2017
(Temple roof diagrams with two point interference patterns and debris)
Sketches for the drawing ‘Two Large Waves’ were started in the immediate aftermath of the 2011 following the Great East Japan Earthquake. Following the quake, tsunami waves of up to 40 metres in height left 18,000 people dead or missing, the quake being powerful enough to move the entire island of Japan 2.4 m to the east, and shift the Earth on its axis by between 10 and 25 cm. The power of the quake also increased earth's rotational speed by 1.8 microseconds per day, enough for all satellites to have to be recalibrated. The entire planet was left ringing like a bell for weeks afterwards. Finally completed in 2018, the two large wave-shaped structures in the drawing are derived from intricate architectural diagrams of temple roof structures. These are connected by networks of lines to clouds of debris above, and a circular landscape of troughs and crests below, which resemble constructive and destructive wave interference patterns.
Size
71 x 58 inches - Framed
Materials
Ink, pencil and watercolour on paper
Authenticity
Hand signed by the artist
Behind the Scenes
Michael Whittle
Hong Kong
PAINTING
MIXED MEDIA
What if the solution to a puzzle you’d been struggling to solve ended up being the METHOD you were using to solve it? Sounds strange, but that’s exactly how English artist and researcher Michael Whittle came up with the idea for his award-winning 2015 PhD thesis, which has since been downloaded more than 58,000 times in 25 different countries. After receiving his MA from London's Royal College of Art...
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