Flow Separation is ingenious new project completed recently by Tauba Auerbach where her process driven work was applied to the historic John J. Harvey Fireboat. Commissioned by the Public Art Fund and 14-18 NOW (the UK’s arts program for the centenary of World War I), the first major public work from the New York-based took 21 days to complete with a team that taped, rollered, stenciled, hand brushed the entire surface of the boat. The undertaking is meant to be a modern take on the WWI “dazzle boat,” where patterns were painted onto vessels to distort their forms, enabling them to elude enemy submarines tracking their movements. Taking inspiration from the wake of boats and eddies created when it moves through the water, Auerbach created the look of her latest work by “marbling paper, floating inks on a fluid bath and combing the surface to create various wake patterns.” The public is invited for free rides through September 23rd with the ship on display at various piers – get more info here.
Discuss Tauba Auerbach here.
