Art

COLOURS OF THE ATLANTIC by Lia Ditton

In the course of the Woodvale Atlantic Rowing Race, every 24 hours, I will pick a colour – the colour which comes immediately to mind. In the process, I will be leaving a trail of colour across the Atlantic.

I have questioned whether while rowing across the Atlantic, I will have time to write much, bar a few lines. Would I formulate poetry or would the physical act of 2 or 4 hours of non-stop rowing (2 during the day, 4 at night), be all-consuming? However, one thing I will have time for, is to pick a colour.

There are 31 boats in this year’s fleet and each crew has a different story. In May 2009, I took a job to help finance my way. I captained the delivery of a powerboat from England to the Balearics. A week after her successful arrival, I missed a step on the curved transom stairs and took a tumble, partially detaching my left ankle ligament. The injury was not serious, but unfortunately the cast was set at the wrong angle, slowly giving me thrombosis. To deal with the pain, I would describe to my friend Gail (who very kindly flew in to be my nurse!) the colour of the pain. Colour we decided was a common language.

After the race I may have a silk scarf made in Varanasi, India with all the colours laid out in sequence. Or I may make a sculpture with pillars of crushed coloured glass that rise up according to the wave height logged at the time. Such is the wonderful thing about making art. The idea too goes on a journey- to fruition.

PREVIOUS WORK

In 2006 Lia lived alone onbord her boat in front of Tate Britain for 28 days as part of her interactive art installation entitled ‘Absolute Solitude’ which aimed to recreate her solo Atlantic crossing in the 2005 Faraday Mill OSTAR.