The Changing Face

696mm x 206mm triple-fold, with spot UV varnish. A variant included a DVD of the installation.

This animated film and large-scale outdoor projected installation was sited at the juncture of Berwick’s points of transit, the crossing of its three famous bridges with the River Tweed, the geographical division between England and Scotland. It consisted of a dramatic series of morphing portraits, projected onto a 50ft screen suspended under the central arch of the Royal Tweed Bridge, creating a double mirror image through its reflection in the river below. Seen from the Old Bridge and Quayside, it offered a spectacular and socially dynamic welcome for the visitor, not one that is solely based on history, but complimented by a focus on the present and future potential of the region.
 
The projected film features a looped series of single heads. These are the faces of Berwick’s youth. The sequence runs at varying speeds. At its fastest the series of faces merge from one to the next, giving the appearance of a single animated face, at its slowest each individual can be recognised. The project was a collaboration with the community, created with the participation of over 100 young people between the ages of 14-18. Significantly, The Changing Face celebrates Berwick’s youth collectively and individually, providing a unique welcome to England’s most northerly town and one of the North East’s most fascinating locations.

First screened onto the Royal Tweed Bridge from the 21st – 24th September 2007 as part of the Berwick Film and Media Arts Festival and then subsequently shown in other parts of the Town including the façade of the disused Playhouse Cinema in Sandgate. Exhibited as part of the Dott 07 Festival (Designs of the time 07) between 16th – 28th October, at Baltic Square, Gateshead.