Heart of Darkness

A small raft built from driftwood floats down the River Thames in the direction of the sea in darkness and with a single lit candle attached to its rig. The primary inspiration came from the concept of the Thames as ‘a waterway leading to the uttermost ends of the earth’ (Conrad), thus the river (and particularly this river that has historically been a globally significant watercourse and port) is representative of a connecting system linking to the global hydrosphere and the world beyond. The path of the Thames has moved over geological time but it has remained as a single constant for London in historic times. It is a silent force that courses through the city, removing and depositing material from the city and beyond leaving a residue, a mark, a sediment of memory.