The Tide Mills Project

Website: The Tide Mills Project

Production Team: LYT Productions

Music: Nigel Goss

Engineers: John P Fielding & Paul Conboy

I was one of 17 commissioned artists making site specific work for the event. My focus was David Dale’s stables. A former trainer, Dale had a national reputation for rehabilitating lame racehorses, using clay compresses and sea water therapy.

I conceived a giant, three dimensional zoetrope of galloping horses.

I made 16, one metre tall willow horses each at different stages of gallop and fitted them on a five metre diameter, rotating platform.
Strobe lighting provided the visual interruption necessary for the spectacle to be interpreted as horses galloping towards the audience.

I did the maths and sculpted the horses. Sounds easy? Not a bit of it! For weeks I wrestled with soggy sticks and half formed beasts; torsos first, then necks, heads and tails; bruised fingers fashioned the 64 legs and fabulous friends helped finish ears and hooves. The platform was built separately from donated materials and muscle from my team. I didn’t know that it would work but I knew that it ought to.

The zoetrope was driven by a 1930’s lawnmower engine (masterminded by two local engineers) and lit by the team’s lighting expert.

Each four minute performance was enhanced by a commissioned piece of music, taking the audience from racetrack to seashore. It worked and was pretty bloomin’ magical!

The project was seen by 25,000 visitors.