Turner Contemporary has commissioned artist Grace Ayson to record the construction of the new gallery building in Margate through drawing. Grace has been regularly visiting the site, making drawings and taking photographs since autumn 2009.

This commission acknowledges the importance of drawing as a medium for Turner, who always carried a sketchbook in his pocket as he travelled through Europe, recording the changing scenery as he went.

Grace Ayson has commented on how she was struck, on first visiting the site, by the geometric patterns of steelwork and wooden shuttering used in the construction of concrete buildings and wanted to capture these elements while they were still visible. Other drawings convey the extent to which the site is exposed to the elements and how, during the process of construction, the line between interior and exterior space is blurred.

Grace Ayson is based in Ramsgate and studied Fine Art at Kent Institute of Art and Design. Her recent work has explored architectural space, memory and time and a group of her charcoal drawings was selected for the Turner Contemporary Open in 2009. She also works as a stained glass conservator at Canterbury Cathedral Stained Glass Studio. She will continue to record and respond to the evolving site during 2010.