Apertura

Photos by Jill Tate

APERTURA

Apertura is a sonic sculpture set in the stunning landscape at Walltown Country Park on Hadrian’s Wall. The piece is formed from 1900 copper chimes, creating an evolving soundscape to celebrate 1900 years of this incredible UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Made in collaboration with Nicky Kirk and Tony Broomhead, the work highlights a visual fissure in the landscape – a missing section of Hadrian’s Wall, which was lost during the whinstone quarrying that continued until the 1970s.

Inspired by the role of Hadrian’s Wall as a cultural meeting point, the piece reflects on Rudolph Arnheim’s comment that “openings mediate between the worlds separated by architectural barriers”, and encourages a dialogue around our shared experience of borders, boundaries, and thresholds.

Apertura provides a new viewpoint, framing a specific section of Hadrian’s Wall in Northumberland National Park, and encouraging people to come together in a shared physical space. At the heart of the project is the ambition to engage with local, regional, national, and international audiences, opening conversations about Hadrian’s Wall as an inspiring cultural bridge, rather than a historic geographical border.

As part of the project, local communities are being asked to design their own sails to attach to the artwork, in order to bring the wind chimes to life.

Credits:

Artists: Ed Carter, Nicky Kirk, and Tony Broomhead
Producers: Maddie Maughan and Ellie Turner
Structural Engineers: Price & Myers
Fabricators: MorFab
Sail fabricators: Jamie Fry
Engagement: Amanda Drago of Green Croft Arts
Art technicians: Ken Brown | Peter J. Evans | John Smith | Matt Stokes
Production Management: TG Events

Commissioned by Northumberland County Council on behalf of the Hadrian’s Wall Partnership for Hadrian’s Wall 1900 Festival.

Funded by the North of Tyne Combined Authority.

https://1900.hadrianswallcountry.co.uk/events/apertura/