facing stone (2015)
Lime is produced by heating powdered limestone, in this case using the dust produced from carving Portland stone. When lime is added to water, lime-wash is produced, which can be used in the conservation of ancient buildings, among other uses.
In Tout Quarry, Portland, I created and reapplied this wash to a limestone near the workshop. By coating it in lime, the surface is protected and seemingly restored to the brilliant white of freshly quarried stone. This act of selective conservation serves to single out this stone as a reminder of the passage of time, as the surface should be somewhat protected from the effects of weather. In geological timescales the effect will be temporary (a few decades). Nevertheless, the reapplication of material to its source provides a sense of rhythm and ensures that even the dust produced by carving of the precious stone isn’t wasted, and that stone-carving itself is memorialised in the place in which it happens. The reapplication of water-calcium mix to the stone perhaps even mirrors the formation of the stone in the first instance.
Tout Quarry (Site of Special Scientific Interest), isle of Portland, Dorset
LIMEWASH ON LIMESTONE
APPROX 5FT. X 4FT
With thanks to Portland Sculpture and Quarry Trust