Stephen Hobbs’ SAS Somerset & Other War Stories opened as part of First Thursdays at the Twenty Fifty Gallery on 2 April 2015.
The installation demonstrated a unique and dynamic use of dazzle patterning and lighting onto a mock assemblage of the SAS Somerset; a spectacle conceived to enliven and transform the perception of the vessel’s significance in location and history.
The project fulfils Hobbs’ long-time objective to artistically interpret two experimental periods in marine war tactics, namely, Razzle Dazzle Camouflage – a painted technique depicting a zebra-like pattern of inter-crossing lines and shapes – and Diffused Lighting Camouflage – where projectors mounted on a vessel change the colouration of a ship, and therefore alter the relationship of the ship to its surrounds.
All Photographs by Stephen Hobbs.