// Abandon Normal Devices present WATERLICHT

// Press Release

// Abandon Normal Devices present WATERLICHT

Abandon Normal Devices are proud to announce WATERLICHT, an ambitious and large-scale installation by Dutch artist and innovator, Daan Roosegaarde. It will have its UK premiere in Castleton, Peak District National Park this September as part of Abandon Normal Devices Festival 2017.

WATERLICHT (UK premiere)

Thu 21, Fri 22 & Sat 23 September 2017, 7-11pm

Winnats Pass, Castleton, Peak District National Park (UK)

Presented as part of Abandon Normal Devices Festival

Thu 21 – Sun 24 September 2017

Abandon Normal Devices (AND) Festival surfaces in 2017 in the caves and rugged summits of the Peak District National Park. This roaming biennial festival of digital culture, art and film returns for its 8th edition this September in the Derbyshire village of Castleton, with 4 days of site-specific installations and events.

To the west of the village of Castleton, in the National Trust's Peak District Estate, lies the dramatic v-shaped valley of Winnats Pass. Here we will see WATERLICHT, a breathtaking, large-scale installation by Dutch artist and innovator, Daan Roosegaarde. It will flood the valley with light to reveal its geological history which stretches back to the Ice Age when glacial rivers carved the landscape, visualising how high the water levels may have reached.

From September 21st to 23rd, visitors can walk underneath WATERLICHT, a very special and calming – almost hypnotic – experience. Wavy lines of light across the valley are perceived as high water levels, once submerged in the site, where you find yourself in an underwater world. Soundscapes accompany the installation, offering visitors a rich and layered sensory experience of the environment that tell the story of water on this ancient site, connecting to its rich geological history of tropical seas and glacial melt waters and relating to the present threats of flooding today.

WATERLICHT – translated into English as ‘water light’ - is a dream landscape by artist and innovator Daan Roosegaarde, which explores the power and poetry of water. As a virtual flood, it shows how vulnerable we are, by mimicking past or possible future water levels. WATERLICHT consists of wavy lines of light made with the latest LED technology, software and lenses. The result is a mesmerising experience which makes you aware of a world which is changing.

History of Winnats Pass

Drawing on the site-specific locations of this year's Festival, we look at the layers of mineral and material that interweave through the landscapes formed both by geological evolution and the man-made. Winnats Pass has always attracted attention for its unusual limestone rock formations. This limestone valley was once under a tropical sea - the limestone is full of fossils of sea creatures which lived here for more than 350 million years - and there are traces of this ancient geology in the caverns of the area.

As the tropical seas retreated, behind remained a limestone cave system, and over many hundreds of years the valley was formed by the action of water eroding the limestone. Melting glaciers wore away the rock – the limestone gradually dissolving and streams flowing through and under cracks and fissures in the rock - one of these streams created a large underground cave system which eventually collapsed, leaving the steep-sided valley you can see now.

The steep hills on either side of the valley create swirling winds, and were known as the ‘windy gates’ to the Hope Valley, from which the name Winnats Pass has evolved, and they still act as one of the windier entrances to Castleton.

FURTHER INFORMATION \\

Opening Times        

WATERLICHT can be seen on September 21st to 23rd between 19.00 and 23.00.

ROAD CLOSURE

The road will be closed during the below times:

Wednesday September 20th 19:00 – 02:00

Thursday September 21st – Saturday 23rd 19:00 – 23:00

Soundscape

Visitors will be able to download or live stream supporting audio work at Castleton Visitor Centre and on Winnats Pass during the event which will tell the story of water on this ancient site, connecting to the rich geological history of tropical seas and glacial melt waters and relating to the present threats of flooding today.

Booking

This is a free event, no booking required.

Some festival events are ticketed with limited capacity, so we recommend booking in advance. To experience as much of the festival as possible you can book a Festival Pass here.

Travel

By car

Winnats Pass will be closed for the full duration for the projection of WATERLICHT across the valley as part of Abandon Normal Devices (AND) Festival.

For visitors travelling from the North of Castleton, we recommended using the following diversion which will be signposted: Beginning at the junction of A6 and Sheffield Road, travel via Sparrow Pit A623 and Bradwell into Castleton.

By Foot/Public Transport

The location is accessible by foot and bike. Winnats Pass is approximately 0.6 miles / 12 min walk from Castleton Visitor Centre. We recommend to wear boots or sturdy footwear.

The nearest train station is Hope with regular shuttle buses / public buses available for onward travel to Castleton.

Parking

There will be charged parking available in Castleton centre. There is also limited free and charged on street parking in Castleton.

WATERLICHT is presented in partnership with National Trust and Peak District National Park.

AND FESTIVAL 2017 \\

For Abandon Normal Devices Festival 2017, the peaks and caverns of Castleton will be turned into a laboratory - a temporary haven - inviting world-class artists to reflect on time, the underground and sites of industrial discovery.

AND Festival 2017 will be an exhilarating exploration of the terrain, which will appeal to adrenalin junkies, cave dwellers, film fans and those who want to appreciate the natural world through a new geological and evolutionary frame. Revealing an alternative approach to understanding this dramatic landscape, AND invites you to abandon your normal devices and experience the landscape anew.

Featuring:

AUDINT \\ Nora Al-Badri \\ Antoine Bertin \\ Rose Butler \\ Arcángelo Constantini \\

Beatrice Dillon \\ Don’t Follow the Wind\\ James Ferraro \\ Leslie García \\ Sioban Imms \\

Charlotte Jarvis \\ Sam Lavigne \\ Lindsay Lawson \\ Ruth Levene \\ Victoria Lucas \\ Steve Maher \\ Martha Maya \\ Martha McGuinn \\ Gibrann Morgado \\ Ian Nesbitt \\ Simone C Niquille \\

Jan Nikolai Nelles \\ Nkisi \\ David O’Reilly \\ Ooni Studio \\ Diego Ortega \\

Matthew Plummer Fernandez \\ Doreen A. Ríos \\ Studio Roosegaarde \\ Alfredo Salazar-Caro \\

Shift Register \\ Ikbal Simamora Lubys \\ Thomas Thwaites \\ Tony Maryana

Films from:

Avijit Mukul Kishore \\ Busby Berkeley \\ Ron Underwood \\ Neil Marshall \\ Maeve Brennan \\ Felix Kalmenson \\ Emma Charles \\ Emma Charles \\ Ben James \\ Dir. Louis Malles \\

Hito Steyer \\ Pierre Bismuth \\ Werner Herzog \\ Richard Donner

The festival is a mix of free and ticketed events and features 4 days of unusual and unexpected installations as well as an eclectic mix of events – all responding to the natural environment of the Peak District National Park, which evidences the changes to the earth from the ice age to modern day mining.

Visit www.andfestival.org.uk for full details on the programme, featuring exhibitions, subterranean adventures and film events.

Tickets are on sale www.andfestival.org.uk/tickets

Gabrielle Jenks, Abandon Normal Devices, Director, said

“We are looking forward to venturing to a new destination with AND Festival this year, the location of Castleton in the Peak District National Park provides a site for discovery for artist and audiences alike and we have some truly exciting site-specific works in which we are delighted to bring to the Peak District National Park.”

Daan Roosegaarde, Studio Roosegaarde, said

"We are very excited to premiere Waterlicht in the UK with Abandon Normal Devices and the National Trust. Waterlicht will shine new lights on the valleys of the Peak District National Park, poetically and powerfully visualizing water on the remaining paths of glaciers."

Helen Tuck, National Trust, Visitor Experience Manager, said

“We are excited to be working with the Abandon Normal Devices team to bring the festival to the Peak District. It is an exciting new partnership for us at the National Trust, and a we are eager to showcase the beautiful and dramatic landscape we have here in the Peak District in new and interesting ways.”

CREDITS \\

Abandon Normal Devices Festival 2017 is hosted by Peak District National Park and National Trust (Peak District). Supported using public funding by Arts Council England with additional support from BFI, the Creative Europe Programme of the European Union, British Council (Mexico) and British Council (Indonesia), and Sheffield programme partners Site Gallery.

Participating partners include Making Ways, University of Salford, Somerset House Studios, Kikk Festival, Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona, The Influencers, Transmediale, STRP and National Trust, Trust New Art.

This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This communication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

// ENDS

For press enquiries relating to Abandon Normal Devices Festival 2017 please contact:

Rebecca Ladbury: rebecca@ladburypr.com | 07941 224 975

Danya Agababian: danya@ladburypr.com | 07779 635 147

Yasmin Kerr: yasmin@ladburypr.com | 07740 485 957

For more information, interview with Daan Roosegaarde and high-res images:

Jane Lee, pr@studioroosegaarde.net (+31(0)103070909).

Photo credits: © Studio Roosegaarde - photo by Pim Hendriksen.

// Notes to Editors

About AND

Abandon Normal Devices (AND) is a commissioning agency and a catalyst for new approaches to art-making and digital invention. We create ground breaking projects which challenge the definitions of art and moving image with a distinct emphasis on creative enquiry and provocations.

AND brings together an eclectic mix of academics, filmmakers, scientists and anarchists to actively push the boundaries of audience experience and arts production. Inviting artists to hijack the imagination, by developing projects which abandon traditional settings and partnerships.

The AND portfolio consists of film happenings, exhibitions, performances, online projects, residencies, public realm interventions and a roaming biennial festival.

AND was established in 2009, as a unique partnership between Cornerhouse, FACT and folly. AND is funded by Arts Council England.

AND Festival is the UK’s first roaming festival of cinema, art and digital culture, which maps fresh geographical and digital domains every two years. It takes place nationally and internationally and is a catalyst for partners and artists to explore different contexts and curatorial models.

andfestival.org.uk

@ANDfestival

About National Trust, Trust New Art

Trust New Art is the National Trust’s programme of contemporary arts inspired by our places. National Trust has been working with living artists since the 1980s, and in 2009 created Trust New Art through a partnership with Arts Council England. The programme makes contemporary arts available in National Trust places, builds new and diverse audiences and offers new opportunities to artists to work in new contexts.

www.nationaltrust.org.uk/trustnewart              

@TrustNewArt

About Daan Roosegaarde

Dutch artist and innovator Daan Roosegaarde (1979) is a creative thinker and maker of social designs which explore the relation between people, technology, and space.

Roosegaarde has been driven by nature's gifts like light emitting fireflies and jellyfish since an early age. His fascination for nature and technology is reflected in his iconic works such as SMOG FREE PROJECT (the largest outdoor air purifier which turns smog into jewellery) and VAN GOGH PATH (bicycle path which glows at night).

Daan Roosegaarde has been selected by Forbes and Good 100 as a creative change maker and a Young Global Leader at the World Economic Forum. He shares his visionary ideas frequently through lectures at conferences across the world such as TED and Design Indaba.

 

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