A colourful and bright art installation has taken over a popular North East landscape, as hundreds flocked to see the opening of a historical tourist attraction on Saturday (July 30).
To celebrate Hadrian’s Wall’s 1900th anniversary, English Heritage has installed a modern take on the original Roman gatehouse at Housesteads Roman Fort – one of the Wall’s most important sites.
Created by renowned artist, Morag Myerscough and the local community, the temporary installation – called ‘The Future Belongs To What Was As Much As What Is’ – stands in the exact spot that the north gatehouse at Housesteads once stood.
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The colourful re-imagining of the gatehouse replicates the original building in size and as visitors can climb to the top, the installation opens up views of the ancient landscape, last seen by Roman soldiers 1600 years ago.
English Heritage’s chief executive, Kate Mavor, said: “Hadrian’s Wall is one of England’s most iconic landmarks and to mark its anniversary, we wanted a meaningful way to connect people of 2022 back to AD122.
“We hope that placing such a bold contemporary art installation in this ancient landscape will not only capture people’s imagination but maybe also challenge their ideas of what the Wall was for.”
Here are some images of the Hadrian's Wall art installation:
Pictures: HEATHER HILL.
The brightly coloured wooden placards that comprise the outer shell of the artwork were designed in response to the collection of Roman artefacts on display at Chesters Roman Fort Museum, Roman designs, and community workshops.
Artist Morag Myerscough said: “The moment I saw Housesteads and started walking around the fort I had an overwhelming feeling of wanting to make an installation there.
“I stood in the remains of the north gatehouse and I looked at the wilderness that appeared to be unchanged since Roman times and I knew immediately that was the place.”
The words and phrases seen across the installation come from Morag’s collaboration with poet, Ellen Moran and the local community through workshops where volunteers also helped to paint the placards, following the artist’s designs.
As part of the HW1900 Festival, the installation is open to the public from July 30 to October 30 2022, after which the structure will be completely removed and the placards will be offered to the community members who painted them.
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