All other photographs by Jonathan Turner / Arts and Heritage
Time in the Ice House (2017)
An experimental ice sculpture was installed at Norton Priory Museum and Gardens for one week in August 2017.
Time in the Ice House brought together two different periods of Norton Priory's history through a temporary installation inside the museum's eighteenth-century Ice House.
The work was inspired by the medieval priory bell, once used to call the monastic community to prayer throughout the day. At the centre of the installation, a large ice sculpture slowly released objects as it melted. Upon release, each object struck the rim of a suspended Tibetan singing bowl, announcing another passing moment. Unlike the predictable rhythm of the original priory bell, each strike was governed entirely by the environment.
Temperature, humidity and the insulating qualities of the Ice House determined when each sound would occur. Originally built to preserve winter ice, the building once again became an active participant in the work, slowing the sculpture's disappearance while quietly marking the passage of time. The domed chamber naturally amplified each resonant strike, allowing the sound to travel beyond the Ice House and across the surrounding walled gardens.
By bringing together the medieval priory bell and the eighteenth-century Ice House, the installation connected two different ways of marking time into a single unfolding event.
Created by David Appleyard, Time in the Ice House formed part of Meeting Point2, a year-long commissioning programme led by Arts&Heritage.
Arts and Heritage Film - https://vimeo.com/245933446