Wall Run (1), 2008

Wall Run (1) forms part of a series of hand-printed, black and white photographic prints accompanying the collection of moving image works Traceurs: to trace, to draw, to go fast. Each photograph comprises a still image taken from one of the digital films.

The films are created using a thermal imaging camera, which captures a series of moments in which traceurs (parkour practitioners) come into physical contact with the urban fabric. The camera, which sees the world in terms of temperature rather than light, makes visible the glowing white heat residue transferred from hands, fingers and feet onto the surfaces that the traceurs nimbly leap onto, run across and spring off. The photographs, printed from stills captured at the precise moment the body of the traceur leaves the frame, document the moment at which this heat residue is most visible.

The collection of films is screened simultaneously as part of a multi-channel video installation.

Related publication: Traceurs: to trace, to draw, to go fast with an essay by Richard Grayson.

Commissioned by Westminster City Council.