Cannon Smoke Installation – Made with selected papers and milk cartons. Handmade by Jeremy Walton, using the craft ebook JW006 Diamond Light Shade

Installation by Jeremy Walton June 2009. Roskilde Festival

The story of the human cannon ball. After 40 years in the business he had the accuracy to propel himself into a bathtub from 300 meters. One final night he over loaded his cannon and created a cloud of smoke that took eight days to clear. It was some years later that a silver sequined leotard was found two miles away in the local duck pond. Some people say he was attempting to out perform the new sensational trapeze artists, while others say, it was a perfect shot from two miles and a smoke screen to cover up his disappearance on the same night that the bakers wife left town.

Using, the JWoo6 Diamond Shade craft ebook, I set about creating Cannon Smoke as part of the Silent Circus project in SoupaNatural’s circus tent in the Climate Community field of the Roskilde Festival.

Going along with the Circus theme, I studied in detail (a couple of online photos) Cannon Smoke from human cannon ball acts. I attempted to recreate this using the lampshade diamonds made of craft paper, waste paper and good old milk cartons.

The majority was made on site using a cutting knife, a staple gun and with help thanks to my festive festival helpers. The result was a battle against the wind and humidity. some amount of smoke built up over the duration of the festival. I did manage to test and learn a lot about the diamond shade and the E-craftbook which presents how to make your own diamonds into smoke, candyfloss or what ever takes your fancy. I started with an explosive centre, which aptly vanished late one night leaving just a cloud of smoke.

Bang!