Chance to take a dream-like glimpse through a ‘wormhole’ to another world... near Bridgnorth
Art lovers have a new way to experience one of Shropshire’s National Trust sites thanks to the installation of three Victorian era kinetoscopes.
Comer Woods, part of the Dudmaston Estate near Bridgnorth has seen the kinetoscopes installed as part of the Hart of the Wood project by artist Ben Wigley.
A kinetoscope is a motion picture device, which displays images while a handle is turned, to create a movie-like effect.
Hart of the Wood is a poetic, visual journey through celluloid film, sound, song, and folk mythology through Comer Woods.
Lead artist Mr Wigley worked with sonic adventurer and folk artist Nathaniel Robin Mann, interweaving real audio excerpts from the woodlanders from the Dudmaston estate.
These moments have been captured on 16mm film with contemporary woodlanders and combined with imagery of the beautiful masks hand made and performed by artist Stephen Jon Cooper, to create a visual display of imagery, developed and tinted by hand.
Working with Dr Matthew Little, a renewable energy engineer, Mr Wigley worked to develop and create three kinetoscopes.
He said: “The art explorer will be offered a unique, dream-like glimpse through a ‘wormhole’ to another world, where the Green Man roams, The White Hart watches, Gaia springs forth, and Long Tongue plays a greedy and dangerous game of chance with the woodland spirits.
“Go for a walk around the wood, place your head inside the film and sonic sculpture, then crank the handle continuously to submerge yourself into a different place where the nature looks back at us.”
The artworks will be on display in Comer Woods until 2024 with the project also supported by Arts Council England, National Trust and ARTDOCS.
