Drawing a map of a top-secret airbase on a wall in a public space

Six years ago I was employed for a few weeks at a top-secret airbase in the north of England. ‘BAe-Warton’ as the site was called (though not shown on any road maps) was known as the ‘Home of the Eurofighter’ as it was where this international collaborative defence project was built and tested.

The job was a simple administration role but it required me to sign the UK’s Official Secrets Act. However, in walking around the site every day, referring to my sanctioned copy of the site’s own map I began to learn it by heart. Without trying to I was creating my own mental copy of this officially uncopyable document.

This memory of a map has obviously faded somewhat over the years but on two occasions since then I have attempted to transcribe what I can still recall onto a blank wall; once in a gallery and once in someone’s home. On each occasion I gave myself a few days and a pack of pens to start marking out what I could remember of the site directly onto the wall; scribbles and sketches overlaid to become my best attempt at a reproduction.

I am offering to again market this trade in state secrets. This time the drawing can be made on a wall in a public space, anywhere in the world; the location is the choice of the buyer.

Price £ 2000 plus any travel expenses. This will provide
three days of ‘remembering’ activity in front of the chosen surface.

Barry Sykes 2007