An international projection artist is inviting members of the public to be part of a spectacular nightly light show that will transform the exterior of Shrewsbury Market Hall into a flurrying snow storm in the run up to Christmas.
Andy McKeown, whose work has appeared all over the world, is to project the constantly changing storm onto the front of the building in Mardol Head.
He is appealing for as many people as possible to create their own snowflake for the storm which will be the first public participation project of its kind that he has ever attempted. The installation, which is being funded by Shrewsbury Town Council, will use one of his unique ‘real time’ hybrid generative software image engines, streamed through two projectors, to create a giant illumination of constantly changing and falling objects on the front of the building.
The show will be fully operational from Tuesday December 2, running from 4.45pm to 10pm each night, through to December 23.
“During that time the snow storm objects will evolve.They will begin with images of snowing toys and Christmas baubles and gradually turn into snow as more snowflakes are created,” said the artist, who is based in Shrewsbury.
“The programme will translate the drawings of snowflakes into digital patterns that will appear randomly in scale, speed and sequence to create falling snow. It is enormously complex and challenging. Once it is set up I will have no control over the constantly changing images and I too will become part of the audience. Every night the show will be different.”
People of all ages are being invited to go to the market hall and create their own snowflake by drawing an image on a 90mm by 90mm sized piece of white paper with a black nylon tipped pen, leaving a 5mm border all the way round. Paper and pens will be available at Cafe AleOli and The Bird’s Nest Cafe in the market. A posting box will be used to collect the drawings and selected entries will be incorporated into the show.
“People will draw their snowflake in black, but it will be translated into a white image by the machine. I’m hoping as many people as possible will become part of the storm,” added Mr McKeown.
He is giving his time free for the project, with the support of Moss Bros clothing retailer, in Mardol, from where the show will be projected.
Mr McKeown has projected a number of different illuminations onto the exterior of the Market Hall since 2003 but this will be the first involving his snowflake generation software and public participation.
Leader of the Town Council, Councillor Alan Mosley said: “The Town Council is delighted to be adding to the town’s Christmas festivities by funding this project. Andy’s projections are always world class and I’m sure this will be no exception. The snow storm will no doubt look magical displayed on the Market Hall, especially against the backdrop of the town’s new Christmas lights.”
Market Hall manager Kate Gittins said: “Andy is an internationally leading artist and this is a really exciting project that we hope as many people as possible will get involved.”
Mr McKeown created his idea for the show after being approached by Moss Bros manager David Gough who is a huge fan of his work. “His illuminations are stunning. They light up the place and give that extra bit of pazazz to the town,” he said.
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