"Hiddenplace" - "Eye of the river"

Randall, J

Abstract

One of series of new Artists commissions for "Hiddenplace-an innovative Public Art project activating forgotten and secret places and spaces in Burnley Town Centre.
Artist Jill Randall wants to reveal the hidden underbelly of Burnley Town Centre by floating a video camcorder on a specially-designed boat along the rivers Brun and Calder through culverts and under bridges. The camera is like the”eye of the river”, providing new and unusual insights from under the town, revealing the secretive and fascinating world of the rivers and their habitats.
Filming was done over several weeks in locations ranging from Thompson Park to the 2 rivers convergence at Active Way in conjunction with photographer and technician David Bennett. The footage has been made into a short film with a special soundtrack to be shown at several unusual venues, including screens at Burnley Football Club, Tesco Store and The Mechanics from Sat 2nd-Sat 9th May.

Jill said....”I had a very simple idea which proved very complex to realise! I had to turn inventor to work out the logistics of how to keep the camera dry and enable it to point in different directions, plus coping with inquisitive ducks , intrigued anglers, and not falling in!!!All in all, it was a great challenge which has opened up lots of new possibilities. Some of those culverts were seriously spooky!!...”

• Exhibition Performance Type: Exhibition
• Start Date: May 2, 2009
• End Date: May 9, 2009
• Deposit Date: Jan 5, 2011
• Publicly Available Date: Jan 5, 2011
• Additional Information: Additional Information : The final result is the video “Eye of the River” - a short film 7 mins 24 secs long, with a specially-composed and performed soundtrack by composer Robin Walker ,which was shown at several unusual venues in Burnley Town Centre from Sat 2nd -Mon 11th May. The idea was to intervene in a quiet way , using existing screens, and for the public to encounter the video as they went about their daily business around the town. With the collaboration of co-producer, David Bennett, and composer Robin Walker, who has strengthened the films narrative with his quirky and inventive soundtrack, it proved to be an ambitious 3-way collaborative project.; References : www.hiddenplace.org.uk www.jillrandall.co.uk; Number of Pieces : 1; Funders : Burnley Borough Council Arts Funding;Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA);Tesco