‘23.44°’ (2012)

Commissioned by Oxford Inspires, ‘23.44°’ was a site-specific installation at Kidlington Library that examined the concept of the library as a place for enlightenment. The installation consisted of 40 individual text-based works, each made to the same dimensions and laminated format of a library ID card. The hand typed cards were created from carbon paper and quoted references to ‘light’ from the books housed in the library’s collection. The cards were suspended in the window and gently spun around in response to the movements of passersby, allowing them to be read from either inside or outside during Oxfordshire’s WinterLight Festival. The title ‘23.44°’ is the angle that the earth is tilted away from the sun which is why we receive less light in winter. It also references the Dewey Decimal Classification system used in the library. The installation changed over the course of the day, with the text made visible from either natural or artificial light, depending on the time.  

Organised by Oxford Inspires, WinterLight festival took place from mid-November 2008 to early January 2009 across Oxfordshire and brought a host of winter events to the city and county, incorporating luminous displays of fire, an advent window project in shops and community buildings across the county and performances. WinterLight Oxford 2008 was supported by Arts Council England, Oxford City Council, Berman Guedes Stretton, First Great Western, Oxford Bus Company and Oxfordshire County Council.

After controversial headlines in national newspapers such as “Christmas axed in Oxford” the festival was renamed Christmas Light Festival the following year, as it remains to this day.