ÉTALON
METRE PROTOTYPE I
[length as journey]
2018 / 2023
WATERJET CUT ALUMINIUM
100.02 x 8.9 cm
[A PERFORMATIVE ARTEFACT / EXHIBITION OBJECT FROM ÉTALON: a 112-day / 2,100 km PERFORMATIVE ACTION]
ÉTALON WALKING COMPANIONS:
BONI CAIRNCROSS, ALEX PEDLEY, KATH FRIES, LAURA HINDMARSH, LUCY PARAKHINA, MAGALI DUZANT, CONNIE ANTHES, CHANTEL MENG, SHARNE WOLFF, STEPHANIE BROTCHIE, ANGELA LOPES AND DARREN ENGWIRDA.
SCIENTIFIC COLLABORATOR:
DARREN ENGWIRDA
The first prototype of the étalon ‘metre’ – created through a 112-day / 2.100km durational action and the culmination of 108 individual measurements of the Earth’s circumference.
As an application of the original metre definition [being 1/10 000 000th of a quadrant of the Earth] this new ‘metre’ length measures 100.02cm end-to-end – which is a length more accurate to the Earth’s size than the original calibration.
The path cut between these points maps the route taken from Dunkerque to Barcelona –– embedding the action within the final measurement.