Roger Ackling

b.1947–2014, UK

Roger Ackling was a sculptor who burnt marks into wooden objects with a magnifying glass. His works have appeared in group shows in MoMA PS1, Serpentine Galleries, Tate Britain and many others.

5 Minute Drawing, 1977
Sunlight on wood, 170 x 35mm

Exhibited in the Minatures show at Coracle, London (1977).

5 Minute Drawing consists of a small piece of driftwood found by the artist on Weybourne beach on the North Norfolk coast, on 12 March 1977. Ackling burnt lines into the wood using a magnifying glass, and then went over them with black charcoal.

When it was installed in the garden at Coracle Gallery (where it was almost lost!), the charcoal washed away with the rain, but the impressions of the lines remain clearly visible. Asked whether he considered refilling the lines with black charcoal, Ackling said he liked the work as it was – the accident becoming a part of the work and its history.

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