Amongst a 10th anniversary programme of spectacular interactive light installations and live performance, next week’s Spectra festival will also see the premiere of a newly commissioned artwork exploring the story of Aberdeen and its maritime industries in a time of energy transition.
Created by leading visual artists Anna Henrich & Leon Palmer, Winds of Change is a large-scale filmed installation which will premiere in Aberdeen Art Gallery’s Sculpture Court for the duration of the festival from Thursday 08 February to Sunday 11 February 2024.
A leading light of the North East’s year-round cultural calendar, Spectra is delivered by Aberdeen City Council and created in collaboration with production company Live Event Management.
Councillor Martin Greig, Aberdeen City Council’s Culture spokesperson, said: “It is a pleasure to have Heinrich & Palmer as part of the Spectra programme again, and we’re especially pleased to be premiering this significant new commission at Aberdeen Art Gallery as part of the festival. It speaks to the strength of Aberdeen’s heritage artefacts that they have inspired such a vivid and rewarding new piece of art, and we’re sure that audiences will find delight in this telling of their city’s story, both during Spectra and when it joins the Gallery’s permanent collection.”
Heinrich & Palmer previously visited Spectra in 2020, with two projected installations appearing in St Nicholas Kirk: the imposing, majestic Ship of the Gods, and Aerial which saw flocks of ethereal projected birds take flight. Winds of Change will be their first artwork commissioned for the festival, and following the festival it will become a part of Aberdeen Art Gallery’s permanent collection.
Anna Heinrich & Leon Palmer said: "We are thrilled to be back in Aberdeen and to have this opportunity to create a new piece of work for Spectra and Aberdeen Art Gallery. The city's heritage and maritime collection really captured our imagination when we first visited back in 2019 and it has been a privilege to be able to work with the Collections team to delve deeper into the stories behind some of these artefacts. 'Winds of Change' is very much inspired by this collection and Aberdeen’s unique maritime and industrial story, from tall ships and granite, to oil and the transition towards renewable energy and wind power."
Set against a backdrop of Scottish wind farms and the oil rigs at Cromarty Firth, Winds of Change journeys through aspects of Aberdeen’s unique maritime and industrial story, from tall ships and granite to oil and the transition towards renewable energy and wind power. The film draws on local folklore of a three knotted rope, which was sold by witches to sailors to control the wind whilst a sea. The untying of one knot would release a breeze, the second a strong wind and the third a tempest.
The film blends video footage from research visits to the local area and wider North East, from Balmedie Beach to Moy Wind Farm, with animation and stop-frame imagery drawn from artefacts found in the city’s extensive heritage collection, including objects from the Aberdeen Treasure Hub.
Spectra will once again see the Granite City’s winter nights illuminated with eye-catching projections, interactive sculptures, and magical installations for all ages.
Audiences can look forward to seeing some of Aberdeen’s most iconic buildings and locations transformed as part of the spectacular festival programme, from a colossal network of light globes inspired by the human brain in Union Terrace Gardens to a flock of luminous butterflies in Aberdeen Art Gallery, dazzling dance-led projection across HMT and an enormous glitterball love heart at Marischal Square.
More information on the full festival programme can be found at www.spectrafestival.com
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Image: Point cloud imagery of a wind tunnel model of Brent Charlie oil platform – Heinrich & Palmer.