Redundant Pub sign - next to re-routed road

The River Churn In our Element

Events

My work as an artist has allowed me to use the format of temporary event based installation work in many different site specific environments. During my investigations of the river I always had in mind that some sort of performance/installation work would be appropriate for raising the profile of the river. The City Bank area seem the perfect place for this to happen, due to the diversity of sites and references as well as the proximity to the river of a large community on both sides of the river and road would allow both public involvement in the process as well as a large local audience to an easily accessible event. There are also adjacent allotments sites and playing fields which could allow the expansion of sites away from the exact proximity of the river.

River Churn Project Overview

Time and Space
The project would take place over three evenings/ nights in either early spring or later summer.
It would take the form of a series of installations involving light, sound, performance, text, poetry and song along a two-mile stretch of the river Churn.
Each work would vary in its complexity form and duration.
Most of the works would be cyclical running for duration of three hours a night from 7.00-100am. Installations would be designed to be experienced during the hours of darkness.
The event would be a non-ticketed event. Free location maps of the installations would be included in all publicity.

Artist’s involvement.
The project would be directed and curated by the lead artist Jony Easterby and involve further artists from a range of disciples who’s work has on previous occasions born some relation to rivers.

Mark Anderson. Sound and lighting artist. Powerplant Liverpool08, Blast, Blissbody.
Jony Easterby. Lead artist. River Related Works along River Irwell, Grizedale Forest, Gelsenkirchen. http://www.jonyeasterby.co.uk
Alec Finlay, artist poet and publisher who has created works relating to the river Tweed and Dalwhat water. www.alecfinlay.com
Nathan Hughes. Artist, filmmaker and producer. He has created works along the river Avon as well as the River Churn. http://www.mindpaw.co.uk
Anna Lucas. Atists, filmmaker. Recent works have been based around plants and river journeys in Peru and USA.

 

Development of Work.
The project would take the form of a series of commissions that would involve the development of work over a 12-month period for presentation during the event.
Each artist would be asked to develop work independently but within the framework of a collaborative event. Thus deciding collectively on the range format and location to present the work within the overall context of the event.
The artists would be guided in consultation with the Lead artist to develop work within a given field, theme, space or social context.
It would be important that the artists engage in some way with the local community and to involve them in some way with the creative process.

The Process of engagement with various aspects of the community along the river would be based arounfd the following.

1. Aural histories and Stories – Sound/composition commission
2. Flora, Fauna, and Biodiversity along the river.
3. River wardens, fishing and water management.
4. Horticulture, allotments and plant nurseries.
5. Local history, industrial archaeology and land use.

Working Installation Ideas.

1. A Series of video projects using powerful wide-angle video projections onto the bottom of the riverbed. Working in collaboration with Alec Finlay to create text based work, river Rengas, and circular poems.
Working with local groups to generate content ‘stream’ for objects or actions that would take place ‘in the river’. Dance, movement, found objects, dialogue on dumping rubbish, votive offerings etc
Projectors mounted on bridges. Audience to view content from bridge positions.

2. Video and installtion created relating to the people and use of allotment sites along the river.

3.Video travelogue of an artists journey along the river (existing work on river Churn).

4. Floating composition/improvisation.
A series of boats moored in the middle of the river contain musicians (from folk genre) that respond to aural dialogues created through sound recordings of people related to the river/aural histories (see /listen to Chris Woods “listen to the river”).

5.A series of sound and light installation relating to the movement, flight, sound and movement dynamics of dragon flies along the river using micro driven motors.
Light work using water dynamics to echo the movement and dynamics of water crow foot.

6. Work created using the resource of found rubbish along the river.

7.Text based work along the bed of the river using natural materials.

8. A sound and video installation that explores the memory of child’s rope swings into the river, using black screens and high contrast projection to give the effect of a child ona  rope swing over the river.

 

 

 

 

 

Propsals landscapes