English Heritage has commissioned its first ever sound installation for Chesters Roman Fort in Northumberland as part of the multi-partner funded Hadrian’s Cavalry exhibition across 10 museums and heritage sites on Hadrian’s Wall.
The programme for Hadrian’s Cavalry exhibition at 10 museum and heritage venues across the wall ends on 10 September, while the sound installation will be played at Chesters Roman Fort until 5 November.
Cavalry 360° has been made by the design practice Neon, and comprises a site-specific musical instrument at the Roman fort, which uses the force of the wind to create the sound of 500 horses moving across the landscape. The installation recreates the sound that occupants of the fort would have heard in the 2nd century, when the garrison was a hub for elite personnel from the Roman auxiliary forces.
The mechanical installation, which stands 3.5m high, is constructed from 32 wind turbines that drive hundreds of mini beaters to generate an ever-changing equine rhythm at Chesters Roman Fort, which is the best-preserved Roman Cavalry fort in Britain.
Kevin Booth, the senior curator at English Heritage, says: “It is designed to connect the viewer with the environment, to invite people to look through the work at the landscape beyond, to pick up the sound on the wind, to experience the beaters working at differing speeds as the wind rises and falls – and as the horse gallops or trots. It will place you in the midst of a busy garrison, or give you a sense of a Roman cavalryman mid charge or as an aggressor awaiting their fate.
“Our ethos of ‘bringing history to life’ is perfectly encapsulated in this unique installation. This really is a once in a lifetime event and a first for English Heritage.”
Mark Nixon, the artist whose company Neon created the installation, says: “The challenge of describing something that was no longer physically there, the Cavalry – and acknowledging the way the horse changed mankind’s relationship to the landscape were key to our approach for the commission.
“This piece has been no easy feat to achieve and has involved a long process of iterative testing over a period of six months to ensure that the visitor experience will match the artistic intent. Alongside the experiential development of the artwork, much work has been done to ensure that the piece meets all of the engineering and technical constraints that come with building on such historic ground."
The programme for Hadrian’s Cavalry exhibition at 10 museum and heritage venues across the wall ends on 10 September, while the sound installation will be played at Chesters Roman Fort until 5 November.
Cavalry 360° has been made by the design practice Neon, and comprises a site-specific musical instrument at the Roman fort, which uses the force of the wind to create the sound of 500 horses moving across the landscape. The installation recreates the sound that occupants of the fort would have heard in the 2nd century, when the garrison was a hub for elite personnel from the Roman auxiliary forces.
The mechanical installation, which stands 3.5m high, is constructed from 32 wind turbines that drive hundreds of mini beaters to generate an ever-changing equine rhythm at Chesters Roman Fort, which is the best-preserved Roman Cavalry fort in Britain.
Kevin Booth, the senior curator at English Heritage, says: “It is designed to connect the viewer with the environment, to invite people to look through the work at the landscape beyond, to pick up the sound on the wind, to experience the beaters working at differing speeds as the wind rises and falls – and as the horse gallops or trots. It will place you in the midst of a busy garrison, or give you a sense of a Roman cavalryman mid charge or as an aggressor awaiting their fate.
“Our ethos of ‘bringing history to life’ is perfectly encapsulated in this unique installation. This really is a once in a lifetime event and a first for English Heritage.”
Mark Nixon, the artist whose company Neon created the installation, says: “The challenge of describing something that was no longer physically there, the Cavalry – and acknowledging the way the horse changed mankind’s relationship to the landscape were key to our approach for the commission.
“This piece has been no easy feat to achieve and has involved a long process of iterative testing over a period of six months to ensure that the visitor experience will match the artistic intent. Alongside the experiential development of the artwork, much work has been done to ensure that the piece meets all of the engineering and technical constraints that come with building on such historic ground."