Northern Lights shine at the Minster
- Details
The video projection and sound installation was commissioned by the York Minster Fund as the culmination of The Northern Lights Dinner fundraiser. This was held as part of a four- year campaign to build an on-going endowment for the protection and restoration of the Minster’s historic glass. This involved illuminating the vault of the nave and famous Great West Window, known as The Heart of Yorkshire.
Ross & Karen are known for their projection and audio artworks. Their style of mixed-media 'installation performance' has developed over a series of innovative projects at many different locations. They worked at the Minster in 2010 when they produced Rose, another spectacular artwork which focused on the celebrated Rose Window. They have also created other artworks for the Illuminating York festival in 2008 & 2013.
"York has been very good to us, giving us the freedom to create several major works here. We were delighted to be back, and this time working inside the Minster," says Ross.
The 10-minute artwork was seen by an audience of 700 at the Northern Lights dinner. This was followed by two days of performances with the Minster being opened to the public at dusk each night. This allowed another 3,300 people to see the artwork.
The projected images covered the entirety of the 65 x 20m nave vault and the West Wall. Ross used eight blended projectors to achieve the roof images and another three for the end wall, all Panasonic PT-DW 17K machines. Ross also devised a customised cradle for the nave projectors so they would point 15° off the vertical and almost directly up into the roof. The three West Wall projectors were rigged on a structure built beneath the organ on the opposite end of the nave. The fully mapped projection was controlled by Dataton Watchout, programmed by Richard Kenyon.
The Projection Studio supplied the projection system. All other technical infrastructure - lights, audio, rigging, power distribution, cabling - was supplied and installed by locally based event and rental specialists Rock-tech Projects Ltd under Phil Adlam.
"We were very pleased with the show and were quietly confident that it would be received well by the public," comments Ross. "But we were all completely overwhelmed by the enthusiasm and extent of the response, and with just how much people appreciated seeing such a well-loved landmark in a completely different light through the piece."
Neil Sanderson, director of the York Minster Fund, adds: "The Northern Lights spectacular exceeded all our expectations. The combination of projected imagery, spoken word, and music perfectly complemented the cavernous space of the Minster and using imagery of the medieval windows, the installation brought a whole new audience to the eternal truths they contain. The reaction of the sell-out crowds was testament to the quality of Ross and Karen’s work."
(Jim Evans)
