Maximum Exposure Commission

The Idea

 Over the course of ten days, we will seek out these pill-boxes from north to south; in fields, along towpaths, under railways and in villages.  Then using mobile video projection equipment we will be illuminating and animating each pill box in turn.  Imagery and iconography from the pill boxes’ original usage, and from research collated prior to the event will form the basis of the projections, and over the course of each night the projection work will be seen moving along the line from one structure to the next, stopping at ten sites in a night.  By the end of the ten days one hundred of these structures will have been brought into the light, as part of a continually moving art happening, drawing a historic line across the county.

 The work will revolve around drawing audience and participants together along a shared structure that they may or may not be aware of.  We’ll be working with participants to define the route and artwork in advance of the event, drawing everything together in an online hub.  Then during the event each night the work will be taking place in a different locality, marking out the stop line.  By day we will be based within the specific locality ready for projecting that night, offering opportunity to meet people in the area, learn what they know of the pill boxes, and share the project.  This allows the piece to evolve on its journey. People local to the pill-boxes would then be able to observe the projections as they happened, seeing the work as it makes its way south. 

 About Illuminos

 Matt and Rob Vale are a lighting designer and film/ installation artist brothers, creating visually inventive, memorable artworks and theatre events. Their work ranges from very large scale illumination to small scale images, but always working to create something unique and specific to its location and community. 

Brought up in Derbyshire, they pursued the arts via degrees in music and Fine art respectively. Matt went on to study lighting and sound at Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), London, with Rob undertaking an MA in Contemporary Fine Art Practices at Leeds. Through various collaborative projects they began to develop a digital arts practice, working across all platforms with an emphasis on projection, light and sound.

Their past experience of working on complex artworks and lighting projects includes large scale building projection projects, theatre, complex NHS LIFT schemes, and permanent video installations, both collaboratively and independently. Their recent work is typified by being created in direct relation to its environment. The Time and Tide trilogy for Swindon, Weymouth and Dorset transformed stately home, military fort and rock face in turn through video mapping, animation and live performance, Door to Door in Bolton saw 180 local council house tenants and their front doors filmed and used to animate the Le Mans Crescent, perfectly fitting to the architecture of the municipal building, The Penny Drops/ Ca Fait Tilt for White Night Brighton and Nuit Blanche, Amiens, transformed whole buildings into live penny runs, where audiences dropped coins in specially constructed cabinets, watching in wonder as these coins rolled larger than life down the buildings. Their work aims to bring a wonder and beauty to digital artworks, engaging audiences and participants, through technically mesmerising but inclusive pieces.

Matt continues his work as a freelance lighting and sound designer for theatre and site specific events, Rob is an arts projects manager and digital lecturer.