Message in a Bottle from Ramsgate to the Chatham Islands, 2004

A limited edition of 12 photographic prints was created as part of the work Message in a Bottle from Ramsgate to the Chatham Islands.

Fifty bottles containing messages were released into the sea near Ramsgate Maritime Museum, Kent. Their intended destination is the Chatham Islands in the South Pacific Ocean. The islands are the nearest inhabited land to the precise location on the opposite side of the world to Ramsgate Maritime Museum.

Several bottles are being tracked using GPS technology and are programmed to send their longitude and latitude coordinates back to Ramsgate every hour. The information they transmit creates a real-time drawing of their progress.

The live drawing, which is updated automatically every hour can be viewed on the project website:
www.fromramsgatetothechathamislands.co.uk

Related essay: Message in a Bottle from Ramsgate to the Chatham Islands by Jeremy Millar

The work was made during an Artist Residency at Ramsgate Maritime Museum, Ramsgate, UK. Commissioned by Turner Contemporary