A New Series of work for Haigh Hall, commissioned by Wigan Council and funded by Heritage Lottery Fund and Arts Council England. The work is in collaboration with Plincke. Curated by Al & Al. Initial develop with Bren O Callaghan.
The work will on display in Summer 2025
Special thanks to Bren O'Callaghan during the research and development of this project.
Above image of James Ludovic Lindsay 26th Earl of Crawford.
For the past six months or so I have been working towards my biggest project yet, for Haigh Hall in Wigan. A series of work that explores its heritage through an interactive art trail within the woodland. A large amount of research and working with primary schools in Wigan led to the outcome of the new works.
The work will result in a four new pieces that will be located in the woodland grounds of Haigh Hall.
Context behind the work:
There was a time where scientists and philosophers argued as to what was beyond the sky’s! Was it something that god did or was it something that was a natural occurrence and therefore predictable through mathematics?
Even today we only know 5% of the Universe.
Ludovic often spent many nights trying to guess the “riddle in dark night sky” looking out for great comets through many of his contraptions and with his peers, in particular with David Gill. They tested the very notion of catching stars through several of Ludovics observatories and expensive expeditions. Everyone knew that Ludovic’s ambitions knew no bounds for when it came to astronomy and what was beyond the clouds of this world.
His library spoke in volume, over 1250 items relating to comets alone, which matched his knowledge and enthusiasm for the subject. This was backup by his honour of been a mason alongside Newton. His collection was vast but perhaps his biggest and most valued item was his ship Valhalla. That took him and his heart to capture the distance between the Sun and Venus, known as the Transit of venues. A project that contributed in working out the mathematical distance between planets.
Ludovic’s biggest observatory tower was on the biggest hill at Haigh Hall, in fact the footings can still be seen today. It was a lesser well known experimental observatory tower that stood south beyond the hall that captured comets of 1882, the same day that Gill spotted the Great Comet, it was that bright it was visible in the daylight! The tails differ from one to the next. Some feather animal like, others faint of a trail of dust leading fleeting ghost of the night.
Below is a collection of images that stood out during the research period
During the research period I went to several primary schools in wigan to talk about my ideas for the final works and also talk to them about the history of the Haigh Hall. Louise Fazackerley initiated all the conversations with the schools and did an excellent job of making Lord Lindsay come to live in the classrooms. Anna Smith also assisted with the workshops. Both helped the pupils interpret Lord Lindsey and his adventures come to life. With imaginative ways of making his Valhalla ship, ways of catching comets and drawing our own comets.
Below is a series of images that reflects my prototypes for the final works.
