THE WORLD MACHINE - Durham Lumiere - Short Edit

THE WORLD MACHINE

“I have found the Projection Studio both a joy to work with, and an enormously productive partner for public education. The capacity to work with world-class sound and light shows, is a fantastic opportunity to showcase the best of UK academic work.”

Giles Gasper, Professor of High Medieval History, Durham University


The Projection Studio have created two artworks specifically designed for Durham Cathedral. The first, CROWN OF LIGHT was commissioned as the centrepiece of the ‘Lumiere Festival’ in 2009 and was brought back by popular demand for 2011 and 2013. The artwork took as its inspiration the Lindisfarne Gospels and their relationship to Durham Cathedral.

In 2015, we produced another spectacular work THE WORLD MACHINE, which attracted upwards of 200,000 people to the city over four nights.

THE WORLD MACHINEwas inspired by research carried out by The Ordered Universe Project into the scientific writings of Bishop Robert Grosseteste and his insights into cosmology and the place of humanity in the universe. This was juxtaposed against a modern view of cosmology as exemplified by the cutting-edge work of Prof. Carlos Frenk and the Durham Centre for Computational Cosmology.

Both artworks were firmly rooted in the architecture and history of the cathedral and the city. Many of images used were drawn from and inspired by architecture of the cathedral itself. The ability to bring details of the cathedral art and architecture into our artwork creation allows the public to see and appreciate details of the design of these buildings that may not normally be seen.


Music Isobel Waller Bridge.
Sound Design Jon del Nero.