Vault was made intentionally to be entirely reliant on the site. It was composed of metal rods which created a series of arcs which 'defined' the space. It could be seen as a sequence of springs, pushing against the fabric of the building. In the preparation of 'Vault', a number of considerations and issues directed and informed the work.
I wanted to make a work which was genuinely 'site-specific', a work that could not exist in its form and dimension in any other space than that of M.O.. The stresses and strains placed upon the components of the work, the arcs described by the steel rods are thus determined by the space. Consequently, the work can be seen in some respects as a spring, pushing into the space and, in turn, being contained in the space. The components may be seen as a record of the space.
I saw the development of 'Vault' as an extension of other exploratory work to clarify the relationship, interaction and integration of different formal languages; verbal, visual, notational.
In this sense, although I wanted to make a primarily 'physical work, the verbal implications of the piece have been important, for example, the use of words which have the potential for dual function in theory and practice, as a noun and verb; describe (an arc), vault etc.
The catalogue that accompanies the installation may be seen in direct reference to these formal relationships. The drawings in the book are derived from the arcs of the installation, the arcs of a series of paintings and the linear shape and trajectory of a music notational development. It is a book of drawings and a score (noun/verb)
I have tried to make a work which has a breadth of implication but remains uncompromising in its integrity of materials and language; the materials of language, the language of materials.
Chris Jennings 1991
Vault, n. a lower or underground apartment or portion of a building. Vault vb. to bend, arch or raise (something) after the manner of a vault. to curve, in the form of a vault, to spring or leap. Oxford English Dictionary