GLASGOW leads the way in the UK in terms of delivering quality outdoor arts events – despite its frequently inclement weather.
World-renowned lighting designer Phil Supple, who lit up the Tower of London’s spectacular ceramic poppy display in 2014, believes the city has been at the forefront of the industry for decades, thanks to cutting edge companies.
Mr Supple, who is creative director of the forthcoming Electric Glen project at Rouken Glen Park in East Renfrewshire, said: “I’ve worked on many events and festivals in Glasgow since 1998 and the city has an incredible track record, on a UK and European level, in the outdoor arts.
“More and more people are realising that enjoying the outdoors is about more than mountain-biking and Munros – it can also be about taking walks in interesting places.”
Mr Supple was part of the creative team involved in Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red, which saw 888,246 ceramic poppies gradually fill up the moat at the Tower of London – one to mark each British military death during World War One.
Supple said: “It was an honour to be involved. It was a great example of the power well-delivered public art has to connect with people on an emotional level, rather than simply being a spectacle.”
Electric Glen, which runs from February 4 to 14, promises to bring the the south side park alive with light, fire, music and sound. The route – which will include references to the fascinating history and unique geology of the park – begins and ends at the boating pond, winding its way through the gorge and alongside Auldhouse Burn.
In the course of researching the show, he discovered links between Rouken Glen’s geology and an ancient sub-tropical sea, and found original pattern samples dating back to 1814 from Thornliebank Printworks, which was powered by the burn.
Mr Supple has teamed up with Derek Allan of Allan Associates and Phil O'Halloran from NL Productions – who staged the awardwinning Enchanted Forest in Pitlochry – for the project, which also features work by digital artists Novak and West of Scotland illustrator and printmaker art school graduate Hazel Dunn.
He added: “It’s exciting, to be able to celebrate the incredible design heritage and unique landscape of Rouken Glen using the talents of some of the nation's finest contemporary landscape and outdoor artists."
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