Space @ Wells Cathedral

Space @ Wells Cathedral is, to quote, an  “immersive fine art experience that combines light and sound…which blends contemporary art with historical contexts to transform public and unexpected places into extraordinary art installations…immersive experiences that bring the history and, heritage, and art of each unique location to life, creating stained glass windows of our time.” www.luxmuralis.com

Projected onto the walls of the north and south transepts were text and images recounting the history of space travel and moon landings. As we progressed into the quire the narrative moved to images that retold humankind’s evolving understanding of its cosmic journey, whilst within the lady chapel at the east end of the cathedral the imagery recounted the Christian story of creation of the world ex nihilo, fall and redemption.

The installation aimed to “deeply connect to the sense of place, merging contemporary art with ancient architecture to create evocative and powerful experiences”. It would be interesting to know how effective it was at achieving this. You would probably need some kind  of questionnaire of attendees to judge it’s success in these terms. Whilst I found it of some interest, and it was a photographic challenge, there were just too many people jostling with each other to get into the best view points, slow down and really experience the installations. Maybe I’m being sceptical here, but I guess the more people they got through the door the greater the cathedral’s financial profit will be!