Shadow Narrative Maker: Sketches and Sciagraphy

Sciagraphy

noun

1. The use of of shading and the projection of shadows to show perspective in architectural or technical drawing.

Sciagraphy historically pertains to a scientific / mathematical method ; a light source, traditionally positioned forty-five degrees to the vertical and horizontal plane, casting from the left-hand-side, of the drawing renders architectural objects, thus recording its form, orientation and position within space. It is a device which improves the legibility and optimizes the interpretation of an architectural drawing.

The notion of a shadow narrative maker alludes to further characteristics, not traditionally recorded within the traditional mathematical mode of shadow calculation. We only need think of the great Gothic cathedrals to see an interpretation of light and shade as a corporeal form which mediates between the physical and divine realms, articulating the rich layers of narrative within the built fabric.

These initial sketches grasp at the fragmentary nature of contemporary narratives and the resultant difficulty of navigating them, particularly against the backdrop of proliferating media content and technologies. Sciagraphy becomes an analogous device to chart the representations of events and their formulation as personal narratives. There is an interactive and operational nature to the sketches, mirroring how contemporary narratives can be framed and altered, our dual position as both content creators and content consumers.

Fig: 1 Exploration of initial ideas concerning the fragmentation of contemporary narratives and events as well as their circulation and circumscription within digital media. Fiducial points marked the reference zones between the two worlds, neither wholly physical or digital non-markers which were thus also sites of construction and mediation.

Fig: 2 This sketch, which more actively evoked analogy with the process of sciagraphy and the projection of events / narratives upon a personalized screen, suggests a more interactive realm and a defined trajectory from event to content.