Whorled (Here After Here After Here)

We visited this free installation at Somerset House last week.  The work by Jitish Kallat is in the Fountain Court, and we had an enjoyable half hour walking both arms of the whorled structure, which highlights distances and key points of interest in the UK, the Earth, and the wider cosmos.   

We did a lot of stopping and deciphering the road signage, and working out the connections between where we were standing and the places listed.  I certainly found it pretty inspiring, from its spiral arm form, which for me reflected the nature of our galaxy, brought to scale by the juxtapositions being thrown up.   So, in our short walk we were 3,800 light years away from the Butterfly galaxies and in the same general direction 3,055 miles away  from Shakhtinsk (which I found out later is in Kazakhstan).  We were also in central London a few miles from London Zoo, in a courtyard which has East and West clearly marked on the buildings. Embarrassingly we had already spent a couple of minutes speculating which way was east and west before we spotted that though, so you wouldn't want me giving you directions for any journeys to other planets or galaxies!  It was interesting working out what the signs meant, and I actually found some of it quite moving where, for example, they indicate places at imminent risk of being wiped out through flooding.  

It was deceptively simple, but the detail hidden within meant that it has kept me thinking about it all week.  Definitely recommended for a little meditative walk if you are in the area before 23rd April.