Tim Meacham

The Lost Language of Cranes, 2017

Model tower crane, electronics 

Inspired by the story of a young girl who was isolated for months in an urban high rise flat, the view from which was dominated by tower cranes. The child, deprived of human company, does not learn to speak but instead develops a complex physical language based on the slow, balletic movement of the cranes, allowing her to communicate to the world outside the window. The work explores this outcome of isolation through a conversation of scale. A model crane placed on the windowsill appears distant. Its gentle tapping on the window reveals its proximity and size, the dialogue of scale (the tiny child and the huge distant cranes) is reversed as the toy crane left outside at night asks to come in. The red LED light a reference to the retro fitting of tower cranes with aircraft warning lights which has transformed the skyline of cities at night.

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