Public art plans for Christ’s Lane unveiled
16 February 2007
The centre of Cambridge is set to be greatly enhanced by a magnificent public artwork, commissioned by Land Securities through art consultants InSite Arts Ltd. The art installation will be part of the new shopping destination Christ's Lane when it opens towards the end of this year. It will complement the architecture of the new scheme, to be sympathetic to its historic surroundings.
Plans have been unveiled for a stunning 'Wall of Letters' - a glass wall standing more than five metres high, which will run along much of the length of the Christ's Lane pedestrian thoroughfare. Created by artist Jane Watt, the wall will be covered by thousands of individual letters. These letters will be arranged to make interlocking words that, in turn, will create a giant word search, having some 6,000 words incorporated in the glass panels.
Jane is working with leading light specialists BDP Lighting to allow sections along the wall to be illuminated as night falls.
The letters, etched onto pale blue glass panels will obscure the modern elements of Christ's College wall with a reflective surface, giving an open, seamless feel to the new lane and making a stroll down it a bright and pleasant experience.
The words will be gathered from across the Cambridge community, through the distribution of pre-paid postcard, at local retailers, council offices and arts venues. People will be asked to submit words, phrases and sentences that evoke real or imagined memories and impressions linked to Christ's Lane and the surrounding area. Additionally, there will also be an educational campaign and workshops to generate content for the wall. Those words chosen will then be arranged into a giant word search that will cover over 220 square metres.
Jane Watt explains: 'Every person who walks past the wall will draw on their different associations and experiences of the area and each time they look at it they might find a different word. It will provide a unique experience for each viewer, adding an element of intrigue to the wall.'
'Land Securities has successfully raised the profile of the arts as a valuable component of its retail schemes,' says Development Manager Graham Thompson. 'This is one of our most ambitious and imaginative schemes, and we think that ultimately it will become one of the city's major attractions.'
Once the wall is installed the viewer will be able to find words and make their own stories from them. A series of short stories made from the words will be published as an artist's book. Copies of the book will be given to Christ's College Library and the Central Library.
For more information and to take part in the giant word search, visit www.christslane.co.uk/public-art/
ENDS
Further information:
Jo Bird - Land Securities Group PLC 020 7747 2390 jo.bird@landsecurities.com
Media information:
Jane Heeney or Jenny Kartupelis - Elements PR 01223 421605 info@elementspr.co.uk
Photographs available on request from Elements PR info@elementspr.co.uk