Mapping Medieval Chester

‘Hryre’ photography competition!

cclarke — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 11:34:30 +0000

Could you take a winning photograph of the lighting installation at St John’s ruins, Chester? There’s a £200 cash prize for the winning image. The lighting sequences will be adjusted for a short period to help you take your photo. Please see full details, and the official entry form, here. Closing date Sunday 26 February. Good luck!

Video: all about ‘Discover Medieval Chester’

cclarke — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 16:23:52 +0000

Catherine Clarke was filmed recently talking about the ‘Mapping Medieval Chester’ research and the new ‘Discover Medieval Chester’ Knowledge Transfer project which will share the academic work with new audiences.

You can view the video here or here.

The video was filmed by the Research Institute for Arts and Humanities at Swansea University.

St John’s art project: December workshops

cclarke — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 10:43:21 +0000

At the workshops before Christmas we had another opportunity to discuss the research and ideas behind the St John’s art project with local people, and hear their views and suggestions. It was tremendous to hear such positive responses and I felt really privileged and proud to be part of such an exciting project. A few photos attached – though the ones on site don’t show the projections and were taken in very dark conditions! Thank you to our hosts at St John’s for making us so welcome.

Presentation in St John's Church

On site at the ruins

Grateful it's not too cold...

‘Hryre’ art project: December workshops in Chester

cclarke — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 15:46:39 +0000

We’ve now finalised arrangements for another series of community workshops in Chester in December, including more text development workshops, a public presentation at St John’s Church, and an on-site workshop in which you can talk directly to the artist, Nayan Kulkarni, see the projection technology and even get involved in the production of some slides.

You can read more details of the events (and information about booking, where appropriate) here. There will be further activities in January, including a Photography Competition for local photographers to have a go at capturing the light installation – watch this space!

'Hryre' photo by David Heke

Illuminations at Newton Primary School: photos

cclarke — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 10:26:40 +0000

On Tuesday 15 November, Year 6 pupils at Newton Primary School worked with artist Nayan Kulkarni to produce illumination designs which were projected over the school building. This workshop and new art were inspired by ‘Hryre’ at St John’s Church, Chester, which projects fragments of text edited by the ‘Mapping Medieval Chester’ project across the ruins. The Newton Primary School artwork also explores the idea of writing with light. Pictures by Andy Scargill.

More photos…

Illuminations at Newton Primary School

cclarke — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 09:36:26 +0000

For one night only! On Tuesday 15th November Newton Primary School will be illuminated by Year 6 artwork, produced under the direction of multimedia artist Nayan Kulkarni. This new art takes as its inspiration ‘Hryre’, the lighting installation at St John’s Church, Chester, which projects fragments of medieval text across the ruins.

You can read a press release about the event here and you can see a flyer advertising the event here.

‘Hryre’: photos of the St John’s artwork (phase 1)

cclarke — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 09:31:11 +0000

The first, temporary, phase of the St John’s art installation is currently up and running in Chester. This will be replaced by the permanent installation early in 2012. The photos here were taken by the artist, Nayan Kulkarni.

We’d love to hear your thoughts on the artwork, so please get in touch. The interpretation leaflet here explains how to do that.

St John’s artwork: launch and interpretation

cclarke — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 20:03:43 +0000

The first phase of our art installation at St John’s Church, Chester, is now complete. The first set of projections, produced by artist Nayan Kulkarni and his team, are now in place, illuminating the medieval ruins at St John’s with fragments of medieval texts which describe the city of Chester.

You can read about the projections and the content of the projected fragments in the interpretation leaflet here. (It’s also handy to print and take along with you if you’re going to the site.)

For the next four months Nayan and Catherine will be developing the permanent content of the artwork, in consultation with the community. The current projections are a means of testing the illuminations and providing a real experience that will form the basis for a number of workshops to be held in Chester. We’re also keen to hear your thoughts and ideas: the leaflet explains how to give us your feedback.

Photographs will be available here very soon.

Our art project in the news

cclarke — Sat, 24 Sep 2011 09:52:51 +0000

Our public art project in Chester has already received coverage in the local media. You can see a recent newspaper story here.

Chester art workshop

cclarke — Sat, 24 Sep 2011 09:47:38 +0000

The first workshop linked to the development of our public art installation was held in the Chester Renaissance offices, Chester Visitor Centre, on Saturday 17 September. 19 local people responded to our invitation and joined Catherine Clarke (who’s leading the ‘Discover Medieval Chester’ project), the artist Nayan Kulkarni and other members of the artwork project team to discuss and develop ideas for the first, temporary lighting projections, to be sited at St John’s from early October 2011 until February 2012. The current phase of the project is funded by Cheshire West and Chester Council.

The public artwork will draw on the texts which we explored in our ‘Mapping Medieval Chester’ research, beaming words and fragments in light across the medieval ruins at St John’s Church, Chester. The workshop was an opportunity for us to identify possible text for the initial projections.

The workshop began with presentations from Nayan and Catherine, introducing everyone to the ‘Mapping Medieval Chester’ texts and research and to the technology and context of the proposed lighting installation. These were followed by various small-group sessions, with participants writing ideas for projections onto A4 paper. By the end of the day, these sheets pretty much papered the walls of the room!

In response to the workshop, Nayan said:

With over twenty perspectives on the material I was surprised that there was a consistent attraction to lines and phrases that were emotionally evocative. Furthermore, the idea of a secret (in Bradshaw’s text referring to a secret gate) underpinned many of the conversations that I had. The group were also interested in the play between the secular and the religious in the writing and its relationship to the ruin and the role of St John’s in the period.

The form of the artwork, projected light, seemed to provide an additional layer of thinking. Light is a profoundly evocative medium and I could see many participants trying to connect the medium with the contents of the texts.

The rhythm of the projections and the non-linear (looping) appearance across the ruins is going to be fundamental to the success of the work. As the workshop progressed and I started to see how different people were responding it became clear that the artwork needs to have a centre, a repeated element that anchors the artwork. The repeated word, phrase or text, will be the most seen element. With this in mind longer spaces of time between the different elements will be possible, so that the possible meanings generated by the artwork can grow from a repeated encounter.

We have now identified a series of words and phrases for the temporary projection, planned for installation in the week beginning October 3rd. Watch this space for more news and updates.