Bridge

Bridge is a mechanical structure that lets you walk out into the middle of a body of water with nothing connecting you to shore. You walk on steps that rise up out of the water in front of you and disappear back under behind you. You can only go to the middle, there is no way back from there except to turn round carefully and return the way you came. The mechanism has no power, it's driven by the weight of the person on it. So far I've only made it indoors in galleries, but it's ultimate ambition is to exist in a permanent installation in a lake.

Beginning work on Bridge was a turning point in my practice, it was the first project I'd made that I felt unequivocally was worthwhile. Everything I'd done until I then made me feel uneasy. I'd made successful projects that were well received but I was painfully aware that I was a participant in a culture of appearances and acquisition that I was deeply perturbed by. Bridge encompassed all my best aspirations. It's almost ten years now since I started working on it, but I still feel exactly the same.

You might ask why it's in my "current projects" section given that the pictures are from 2006, that's simple; it's because it's not finished and I'm still working on it. I obsess about this project. I lie awake at night and think about how to make it work better, how to get the money and where to put it. I save up my cash to pay for it and I always have a new prototype mechanism in my workshop.