We were tasked with creating the opening show for the new sculptures based in Barnsley named the Yorkshire Roses. The aim was to collaboratively creating a unique light and sound experience to show the capabilities of these pieces of art.

So we set about asking the question: how can we make these extraordinary pieces of art feel part of Barnsley and give them the personality of the town. 

To begin with we created an installation at the Barnsley Bright Nights, which we paired as a community engagement project to ask such a question. We gained insights from the people on the street. As the audience of the popular Bright Nights are already engaged and familiar in light art, it gave us a whole host of ideas and thoughts to build from.

We understood from them that the accent gave people a huge sense of belonging and pride. People sensed familiarity, warmth and friendliness in a way which we couldn’t of imagined before. 

So we collected a range of voices from the town to represent the 3 different Roses as characters. We built on these and collected from diverse groups and demographics to expand the show alongside the music we produced. 

Through the meeting of such a wide range of people we collected an amazing snapshot of a town which is thriving and evolving, and translated that back to the people with the production of the opening show. Where these voices spoke to them about the history before them and the future they are creating for the next generation.

Our collaboration included:

Jamie House who worked alongside TLWS as artist throughout, contributing with the research, interviews and project threads. He created original video footage from the town and brought a distinctive creative style to every facet of the project · transforming what could have been generic LED presets into something hypnotic, dreamy and immersive.

Matthew Williams from Hazard Media created a spatially immersive soundscape with real depth and movement, giving us the ideal foundation to build audio-reactive lighting content on top.

The project was a working collaboration with Artin Light and as part of the Seam Digital Campus project that is established in the town.

In addition to creative production TLWS custom-built the show control software · a real-time generative system driving animation, content and light across the sculptures in evolving patterns.