ABOUT THE ARTWORK

Originally created in London during lockdown via a Zoom call, this large-scale light installation was activated by the sound of people’s voices, which illuminated an entire building.

Taking centre stage at an iconic Bristol building, it offered the chance for visitors to the festival to light up The Corn Exchange on Corn Street in a sea of colour as this monumental light installation responded to their voice: The louder and longer the outburst, the bigger the response from the building. The installation interpretated every voice and scream differently, to create a unique response for each person.

Bristol Light Festival is by Bristol City Centre Business Improvement District (BID).  Their aim is to bring colour, light and play to Bristol city centre spaces through a range of events featuring installations from local and internationally renowned artists.  

With thanks to Bristol’s City Centre & High Streets Recovery and Renewal programme, which is funded by Bristol City Council and the West of England’s Combined Authority’s Love our High Streets project, with the aim of supporting the recovery of Bristol’s priority high streets.

ABOUT THE ARTWORK

With social distancing still in place and tensions continuing to rise, London-based artist Marcus Lyall transformed a soon-to-be-demolished office block in London Bridge into an interactive public artwork.  In this new site-specific work, Lyall invited participants to join a Zoom call where they could scream, yell, shout or otherwise vocalise their feelings.

A monumental light installation instantly illuminated the building in response to their voice. The louder and longer their outburst, the bigger the response from the building. The building interpreted every voice and scream differently, to create a unique response for each person.

People participated using any device that supported the Zoom app. The artwork was designed as a safe and constructive excuse for people to release their inner tensions. ‘Primal Scream therapy’ has long been investigated as beneficial for psychological issues such as depression and anxiety. While the artist makes no medical claims, a long and loud shout may be a good way to relieve inner tensions.

All calls will were recorded for artistic purposes and may be used by the artist to develop future installations.

Marcus was heard discussing the project in a broadcast on Resonance FM as part of Bankside Open Spaces Trusts - Great Get Together - due to the global situation at the time, instead of a live street party, they brought everyone together via radio with “The Power of Community” as its theme.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Marcus Lyall has created experimental film and interactive projects for the last 20 years. Starting with live film shows during the heady days of rave, he moved on to specialise in making visuals for large-scale concerts. He now works on a range of moving-image projects, from award-winning stage visuals for The Chemical Brothers, to Metallica’s feature film and directing a commercial starring Lionel Messi. He has created a number of artworks, which have been exhibited at galleries including the ICA, National Gallery of Australia, Seoul Museum of Modern Art, the Design Museum and Science Museum, London.

www.marcuslyall.co.uk

The project was made possible thanks to individuals, organisations and companies  that generously gave their time, resources and support during the Covid pandemic including; New Art Projects, Nursery Theatre, Southwark Square, PRG, Geraghty Taylor and the National Lottery through Arts Council England.

New Arts Projects
New Art Projects is the contemporary gallery of Fred Mann. Through his gallery he seeks to support the work of emerging and mid-career artists internationally. The gallery recently hosted Marcus Lyalls’ first solo exhibition of new installations and interactive works entitled “Test Subject”
http://newartprojects.com

About PRG
PRG is a leader in entertainment and event production specializing in wide-ranging solutions that help bring the world’s greatest creative visions to life. From their early innovations in theatre, their expertise is now sought out the world over to solve the unique production challenges for a broad range of markets including live music, corporate events, film & television, theatre and scenic installations.
https://www.prg.com

About the Nursery Theatre
The Nursery is an improvisation theatre and training in school in London. They are a charity that have over ten years' experience performing and teaching improv around the world. They believe that, as well as being a lot of fun, improvisation can help anyone be more creative and confident. They also believe that financial barriers should never prevent anyone from getting access to quality improvisation training. The Nursery produces podcasts, blogs and materials for improvisers old and new and, in Spring 2020, will be releasing Improgo, an integrated improv training app with an exercise database, scenes engine and materials.
https://thenurserytheatre.com