Landmarks

Landmarks is a research and development project investigating how the physical nature of the Wakefield District (its size, area, shape, content – above and below ground) can inspire creative responses.

The project aims to explore a number of questions about the Wakefield District including –

•         Are there certain landmarks that act as gateways to the district?

•         Where are the highest and lowest points of landscape above sea level and what can you see from there?

•         Is there a middle point of the district and where is it?

•         How many coal mines were there, and where were they?

•         Can the physical appearance of the landscape be used to generate music?

More questions will be generated through online interactions with people from the district, via social media platforms.

For the musical elements I will work with sound composer, Duncan Chapman, to explore ways of using sonification to generate musical interpretations from data obtained through explorations across the district.

(I have worked previously with Duncan Chapman on ‘Rhubarb Shed – 2020’, where he created a soundtrack for the installation through field recordings of the sounds made by rhubarb as it grows.)

For each question I will create a piece of work (painting, drawing, sculpture, sound piece etc). Each of these pieces can act as a starting point for new projects.

These new pieces, alongside previous work exploring the district, will form an interactive exhibition in The Ridings Shopping Centre, Wakefield in March 2023. There will be an artist’s talk (for 20 people) about the project and an opportunity for others to develop creative responses at a workshop on Saturday 25th March in the exhibition space. The exhibition will be open to the public on Artwalk Wakefield, 29th March 2023.

This activity is funded with a Culture Grant by Wakefield Council.