Imaginary Oil-Rig Conversion [2005]
glue, plastic, perspex, figure

The Empire has a mini series of oil rig conversions — visions of studios / living spaces out at sea — stunning, isolated getaways; embodying the notion of the artist locking themselves away in their studio uninterrupted by noise and life. If real, they would be made of glass and other materials of varying degrees of opacity to ensure the outside is held inside as much as possible. Ideas for the oil-rigs started with a quiet obsession with The Thames Estuary Forts (just visible off the coast of Whitstable), fused with a closely related obsession with deep sea oil rigs. There is a compelling weirdness to these nautical architectural anomalies, their identity as half ship half island and their unnaturalness in the midst of their overwhelmingly natural environment.