The Projection Studio Brings Crown of Light Back to Durham

Ross Ashton and The Projection Studio's Crown of Light projected artwork on Durham Cathedral in the UK - created in 2009 -- is back by popular demand for the city's four-day festival of light event, which is curated and produced by the creative company Artichoke for Durham City Council.

Lumière 2011 featured the work of dozens of artists, lighting designers, and community groups in 35 installations. Says Ashton, "It's a real testament to the piece and very flattering to be asked back with the same show. It's also extremely rare for the same creation to be requested again in its entirety, offering those who enjoyed the experience the first time around the chance to do so again, a new audience the opportunity to see it for the first time plus real value for the producers."

Crown of Light covered the entire north fascia of the cathedral, including all sides of the three towers, and was the festival's largest installation.

Durham Cathedral dates back to 1093 and is regarded as one of the finest examples of Norman architecture in the country. It is a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site, along with nearby Durham Castle, which faces it across Palace Green.

Ashton created the projection show's storyboard after an initial brief from Artichoke's Helen Marriage and Nicky Webb. He took ideas related to its narrative and direction and then added and developed his own input.

The story captured the history of the Cathedral including the Lindisfarne Gospels, noted for their amazing accompanying imagery and spectacular Celtic calligraphy. These were originated by the Lindisfarne Monks and stored in Durham Cathedral for many years, along with the bones of St Cuthbert, which still reside there. Ashton's show also explored the building as an architectural space and its relationship with and historical significance to the city.

Ashton and Paul Chatfield evolved the PIGI projection images in collaboration with musical director Robert Ziegler, who compiled a soundscape for the 16-minute show. Ashton sourced images from the British Library and also conducted a photo shoot at the Cathedral to record all the architectural and structural elements he wanted to incorporate into the show.

The projection system comprised seven PIGI 6KW machines with double rotating scrollers, positioned at various distances around the Cathedral - the longest throw distance was 492' and the shortest just 65.6' This was carefully calculated to eliminate any shadowing from the plethora of trees dotted around the cathedral gardens -- and was also a primary creative and technical challenge of the project.

The seven projectors -- supplied by White Light -- were in six different locations, fitted with five different types of lens, ranging from a 3.9" wide angle lens to an 33.4" long-throw lens. Images from each individual machine enveloped a separate zone of the cathedral's architecture in colorful, bold, detailed imagery.

The PIGI film scrolls were about 49' in length, for which the PIGI artwork assembled and pre-corrected for perspective and keystoning in Photoshop.

The show was programmed into E/T/C's PC-based OnlyCue controller and operated by Karen Monid.

Projection Studio's Steve Larkins dealt with all the project logistics, with Cy Doddimead and Michael Barry tech'ing the projectors, which were all housed in custom weatherized hides for the duration

The show ran eight times each night and proved another massive success, helping to draw over 100,000 into the city to enjoy this and all the other works.