Outbreath is a life-size representation of the normally invisible turbulence trail formed in the air around us each time we exhale. It was built in collaboration with researchers in the field of motion capture at The University of Bristol, UK
A piece of solid carbon dioxide was placed in the hollow below the artists tongue and normal breathing maintained. The C02 melted, becoming a gaseous cloud that was documented using three synchronised high speed digital cameras. One image was selected from over 100,000 frames of footage. The artist then drew on each still image to define the surface of the nebulous form. Using digital software, the drawings were transcribed to create a virtual geometry that was three dimensionally printed. The sculpture is wall-mounted at a level that corresponds to the height of the artists mouth from the floor when standing
As a result of the processes employed in its production, Outbreath can be seen as a hybrid object that conflates drawing - a traditional method of understanding the world - with contemporary digital envisioning technology