A new light and sound installation will transform York Minster this half term and help raise funds to conserve the cathedral’s medieval stained glass and stonework.
New light and sound projection opens in York Minster
Platinum and Light is a new projection and sound artwork from artists Ross Ashton and Karen Monid, who created the multi-award-winning Northern Lights installation seen in York Minster in October 2019.
The new show opens tonight (Thurs 20 Oct) and will run for eight to Thurs 27 Oct.
The installation takes inspiration from Her Late Majesty The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee and the stories told through the Minster’s medieval architecture and historic collections.
The events will help raise funds for the Minster’s current project to conserve the medieval St Cuthbert Window, which is one of the largest surviving narrative windows in Europe, and the stonework of the surrounding South Quire Transept.
Designer and audio artist Karen Monid said:
“We find York and the Minster an infinite source of inspiration for our work and to be invited back again to use this space, one of the most beautiful places in the world, to produce this artwork is a fantastic privilege.
“One of the things we were keen to do this time is bring modern day York to past York so the audio for the piece includes music from the Choir of York Minster, alongside readings in Old Norse and Middle English and with modern folk music from Yorkshire based band, Mookie and The Bab.
“We’re really looking forward to sharing the piece with visitors – the reaction we had last time for Northern Lights blew us away and we hope people will enjoy this new installation in the same way.”
Neil Sanderson, Director of the York Minster Fund, said:
“We’re delighted to welcome Ross and Karen back to York Minster following the success of Northern Lights in 2019 and are looking forward to sharing this stunning new installation with our visitors.
“We were overwhelmed with the response to the events in 2019, and look forward to welcoming people to see the Minster in a different light while supporting our work to conserve its world-renowned medieval stained glass and exquisite stonework.”
Projection artist Ross Ashton explained: “We wanted to create something which marked the Platinum Jubilee and the historic milestone in the reign of Her Late Majesty the Queen, so we took this as a starting point to explore how we use metals to denote the passage of time.
“We wanted to bring this back to York and look at stories which specifically come from the city, using the Minster’s historic collection and architecture as inspiration. So we start by exploring the Viking influence here through iron, then look at the Byzantine Empire through gold and end with the ‘modern’ metal platinum.”
There will be two shows each evening at 7.30pm and 9.00pm. On Sunday 23 October the shows will be at the earlier times of 6.30pm and 8.00pm.
Tickets are available via the cathedral’s website and cost £7.50 each, or £25 for a family ticket for up to two adults and two children.
Pictures credit: Anthony Chappell-Ross
More Cathedral events can be found here.
