On Blank Pages. Durham 2023

Last November we were invited by Artichoke to take part in Lumiere Durham 2023, one of the most prestigious light festivals in the world.

The chosen piece was «On Blank Pages», which we have already carried out in many cities around the world and which has become one of our favorites, as it allows us real interaction with the visitors, who become the creators of the piece, which is transformed and filled with meaning based on their contributions.

The purpose of the piece has been the same as on previous occasions, to carry out a large-scale installation with a poetic character, a wall of free expression where the thoughts of citizens can be shown without censorship, made of light and sound. A large wall covered by thousands of white sheet notebooks that invade the public space and house a monumental collage of anonymous and intimate interventions that the wind moves at random, offering the spectator millions of random compositions, the fruit of collective contributions.

In this case, we used some 2,200 notebooks of white sheets, made with paper derived from cement, which makes it resistant to inclement weather and totally ecological.

The festival proposed that we work on a specific theme, «The judicial system,» and of course, we thought it was most appropriate. Artichoke’s learning and participation teams organized workshops with groups from across the UK, and the participants’ responses also formed part of the installation.

The booklets explored the UK judicial process, the prison system and its impact, as well as current colonial regimes and justice-related issues. In almost all the contributions, there was a common voice, that the system has failed and that power is in the wrong hands.

An online form was also created where anyone could respond to questions about the justice system, an effective way of getting the initiative across the country. The answers were transcribed by hand into notebooks by groups of volunteers.

All this groundwork done with the communities is what gives the piece its true value and makes it unique each time. It never ceases to amaze us what people manage to convey through their writings and drawings; they are extremely generous in their contributions and sincere in their comments.

To find out more about the organizations that have taken part in the piece, you can do so here. You can also see images of some of the interventions.

We would like to thank all the associations and organizations that have made the piece possible. To the coordination teams of Artichoke and groups of volunteers and cultural and social organizations in the city of Durham. To the visitors and neighbors who showed their civic-mindedness and their desire to participate.

Of course, to the organization of the festival, Artichoke, for counting on us again and putting at our disposal resources and an extraordinary human team, special thanks to Beth, Hannah, Kate, Zafeerah for taking on the complicated management of this work. And of course, to Melisa Hernández for the wonderful photographic report.

Assembly time: 4 days.
Material preparation time: 3 months
Damage caused: 0.
Duration of the intervention: 3 days.

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