Artist Ross Ashton to show work on Durham Cathedral

Oct 22 2009 by David Whetstone, The Journal

DURHAM Cathedral is to be bathed in light as one of Europe’s premier projection artists takes on his biggest challenge to date – and that includes Buckingham Palace.

Ross Ashton plans to use the vast wall of the cathedral overlooking Palace Green as a screen for a son et lumière show about the history and architecture of the building.

Son et lumière shows are popular in France where the London-based artist spent four years learning from the experts.

But he reckons Britain will have seen nothing quite like this.

Yesterday he was taking photos of some of the internal features of the cathedral to use in the 12-minute projection which will be shown repeatedly on a loop during the forthcoming Lumiere light festival in Durham.

He also plans to use some of the fantastically elaborate text and illustrations from the Lindisfarne Gospels, for which the British Museum has given its permission.

Mr Ashton said he recently returned from America where he made a piece of work for a light festival coinciding with the Pittsburgh Summit of the G-20 group of world leaders.

He illuminated Buckingham Palace for the Queen’s Golden Jubilee and has also projected a light creation onto Salisbury Cathedral.

He said the biggest ‘canvas’ he had ever been commissioned to fill was one quarter of the inside of the Millennium Dome shortly after it had been completed. But compared to the task he is currently engaged in, that was relatively straightforward.

“Durham is going to be one of the most complex installations I’ve ever done because of the trees you’ve got in front of it,” he said. “Because I want to have a seamless image I don’t want to have the shadows of the trees across it.

“That means I’ve got to use six different projector positions whereas normally I’d use one or two.”

Mr Ashton said the Durham son et lumière would feature a moving mosaic of images screened to a musical soundtrack to be arranged by the conductor Robert Ziegler.

This would be broadcast via a surround-sound system to synchronise with the images which would completely cover the vast wall of the cathedral.

Although the work would not be like a conventional film, he said it would convey the story of the cathedral and the journey undertaken by the monks of Holy Island with the remains of St Cuthbert after the Vikings invaded.

Mr Ashton has done other North East projects. He worked on the Enchanted Parks winter attraction in Gateshead’s Saltwell Park last year and also created work for the opening of Sunderland Aquatic Centre.

He said this time he had been commissioned by Artichoke, the London-based art production company commissioned by Durham County Council and partners to put together a £500,000 light festival.

“They came to me with the idea of creating a visual history of the cathedral and its contents,” said Mr Ashton.

“What we are trying to do is take the internal things and put them on the outside of the building. I will be taking pictures of the windows and the pillars and other important features.”

Mr Ashton said he had spent 15 years, including his period in France, developing his art and relished each new challenge.

Lumiere follows on from Durham’s weekend-long Enlightenment festival last year when four bridges over the River Wear played host to temporary lighting installations.

The ambitious plan to light up the cathedral, which together with the neighbouring castle was one of UNESCO’s first World Heritage Sites, should be hard to top.

Lumiere, a free festival involving 18 events and installations in Durham, runs after dark from November 12-15. Check www.lumieredurham.co.uk