Giles Bailey | This Massive Power / The Chemical History Of A Candle

Bailey’s new work The Chemical History of a Candle was originally inspired by and performed in Flat Time House, London. Researching the John Latham archive, and works commissioned by other artists at Flat Time House, Bailey was struck by a moment in Laure Prouvost’s film All These Things Think Link, where Latham peruses a book shelf within the house, pulling out a number of books. One of these was The Chemical History of a Candle, by Michael Faraday, a series of six lectures for children on the chemistry and physics of combustion. In memoriam to the late Latham’s practice of using books in more imaginative or spatial ways, Bailey interprets the contents page as a series of movements and gestures.