Combining video, synthesisers, field recordings and performance, Part Of The Bigger Thing investigates the politics behind and the remnants of Newcastle’s 1960’s transformation into The Brasilia Of The North. Shaped by political and utopian aspirations, the project came crashing down with former council leader T Dan Smith’s arrest and imprisonment on corruption charges. Left with a discredited, partially built future, how do we reconcile the evangelical zeal with which these structures were envisioned with the lived reality of their existence today?
Focussing on Manors Multi-Storey Car Park – where the City of Tomorrow reaches its zenith – Part Of The Bigger Thing utilises field recordings of the car park and its surroundings, an electronic soundtrack and the words of City Planner Wilfred Burns to explore the contradictions of this bold reimagining of our city, over 50 years after its inception.
This video presents the projected film from the installation and a four-track audio recording taken from the live performance at Gallery North Project Space, Northumbria University, Newcastle, 7/12/18.
Fabric hanging and modified boiler suit produced in collaboration with Jenny Alderson
“The essential feature is that the road is not seen as a road - in spite of it’s very great engineering complications - but as part of the bigger thing that is the characterful City centre of tomorrow” - Wilfred Burns, Newcastle: A Study In Replanning
This package presents a recording of the artwork as performed on 6/12/18 at Gallery North Project Space, Northumbria University, alongside a booklet detailing the development of the work and documentation of the performance. A digital download of the audio is included.
Available to buy from Newcastle-Upon-Tyne Modernist Society here: https://newcastleupontynemodernistsociety.bigcartel.com/product/euan-lynn-part-of-the-bigger-thing
Photograph by Iain Lynn
Photograph by Iain Lynn
Photograph by Iain Lynn
Photograph by Iain Lynn
Photograph by Iain Lynn
Photograph by Iain Lynn
Photograph by Iain Lynn