Luminous 
Silent St, 2019
The arrival of luminosity bellowed out of the windows of a slight skewed terracotta building. Framed with wooden timber this building withholds its own presence. Once filled with customers bidding to extend their knowledge with literature as the building resided as ‘’Claude Cox Bookshop’’. The historical value is credited before then. 3-5 Silent Street was built in two phases during late 15th century and is acknowledged as the ‘’most complete and important early Tudor inns anywhere in Britain.’’ (Alston, 2017) Silent Street stands as empty but well-kept by two owners.
Inside is an assembly of wooden etched beams decorated with wyvern forms, creaky floors, and Georgian fireplaces. The residential spiders situate themselves within the rooms. Floating on invisible woven strands in the corners of the building. Some of the rooms exhibit miniature patches of research that allow for discovering the dates of the building. These patches allow for researchers to test the paint and timber to identify the history of the building’s interior.
The ideology of presence is usually determined by existing and whilst walking through the interior it was apparent the presence that was evident was not just my own. I was tracing the footsteps of possibly hundreds of people before me that were once existing within the space of Silent Street. This presence is not referential of the possible spiritual inhabitants but more so imagining an array of people living within the space.
A saturated hue of blue and pink light flooded the beautifully dated interior, bouncing light throughout the space off the white panelled walls. This dispersal of light emphasised the nooks and crannies within the space as light delicately laid within the indentations of the supporting beams and panels. What was once an empty room that consisted of white walls, wooden panels, detailed beams and a fireplace was transformed into a shapely landscape.
Circular, triangular and square forms positioned around the space created a dysfunction of abnormality. Quite unfamiliar yet placed to allow for enough space to walk through the gathering of misplaced shapes.
The saturated rose tones laid effortlessly on the erected square structure that was placed on an angle. The light became somewhat multi-disciplinary in its craft. It was not just illuminating, it was painting. Similarly, to that of the UV light that was used to charge the windowed paintings suspended around the room.
The other half of the room was vibrant and blue. The white walls and illustrated beams that once was the main feature was camouflaged in a pool of blue illumination. Suspended shapely forms slightly moved by walking past or underneath the frames. This allowance for movement transformed the space to reveal entwining shadows that created an expansive-illustration that appeared on Silent Street’s historical interior.
The contemporary presentation (not just in the way the sculptures were placed but also in appearance) created a dichotomy of old and new. This site-specific installation had no desire to hide the existing features that Silent Street had to offer, instead the features became emphasised and a crucial element of presenting some of the sculptures.
Walking around the space triggered small white lights that spotlighted the suspended frames. This incorporation of sensor lights animated the frames, creating a narrative of theatrical presence and a sense of interactivity for the beholder.
This tudor-esque space has been transformed into a fluorescent haven of shape and resin. The building’s interior consisted of a white and brown colour palette that has now been infiltrated with the inclusion of vibrant colours.
Although the work has only been described from the interior perspective, it is also seen from the exterior.
At night the shutters are lifted and out pours a wave of colour onto the street of Ipswich. From afar the windows are evidently the most noticeable by being strikingly more vibrant than the surrounding architecture that accompanies Silent Street.
The use of outside looking in creates a window display that catches the eye.
‘’ Although I was not in the space itself, I felt it to be dead quiet in there. It was as if Forsythe had captured stillness and silence in a room and put it on display.In keeping the viewer outside of the piece, a piece I would normally have loved to have walked around, I believe the point of this piece lies. The perfect juxtaposition on what is on one side of the glass and what is on the other should not be broken.’’ (Russell, 2019)