Kate and I headed out one early Sunday morning to take aerial pictures of the mini roundabouts around East London in search for the flyer image for the Event Gallery exhibition next month. The initial curiosity of these forms is that they occupy a strange mid-point between an object - a thing, and an image. They are sometimes obeyed as objects, and driven around, but mostly people fly joyfully straight over them, showing little respect for the fact that they are still, technically, roundabouts. It also turned out we weren't nearly early enough to avoid the traffic, and the makeshift ladder and cantilevered wooden arm with gaffer taped tripod had to be hastily dismantled every few shots to allow buses, scrap collecting vans, lastnight's drunkards, and endless cars through.
From above they are transformed, revealing more clearly the hand-painted spiral, and the traces of their use (and abuse). All the while I had Mark E Smith in my head, singing "I hate roundabouts, just cant find my way...around!"
Image: 'Aggregate!', © David Murphy/Kate Owens 2011
