International artist Simon McKeown lights up Culture Night with stellar spectacle

Up to 10,000 people gathered to see a historic riverside building brought to life with a stunning digital projection by Teesside University’s Simon McKeown.

With over 25 years’ digital skill at the highest level in computer games and animation, Simon’s Cork Ignite project was one of the highlights of Ireland’s Culture Night with a stunning mix of digital technology, surreal soundscapes and animation.

Culture Night saw more than 3,000 free events take place across 500 venues with an estimated audience of 350,000 people. Cork Ignite was the centre piece of Cork's Culture Night experience and was one of three ‘Ignite’ commissions, which represented the largest ever investment in Ireland’s arts and disability sector. Simon, a Reader in Animation and Post Production at Teesside University, collaborated with people with a range of disabilities, including Down’s syndrome, autism and deafness, all helping to inform and inspire his piece. The 30 minute live art projection also featured disabled actors and bespoke musical scores created by disabled musicians.

'This project has been two years in the making and is by far the most ambitious piece of work I have ever created - it was so technically demanding and creatively difficult,' explained Simon.

'You become so engrained in the work that it can be difficult to appreciate what you have done – but the reaction on the night was immense and the feedback, in person and on social media, has been incredible.'

Cork Ignite was a spectacular visual feast which focused in part on the history and landscape of Cork, intertwined with imagery to evoke people’s perceptions of disability.

It was designed as an outdoor spectacle by Simon and focussed on the hugely detailed and complex visual manipulation of the College of Commerce. Set to a surreal sound track, the audience watched the building rotate and collapse, be covered in flowers and ivy and collapse again. Games such as Pong were played on the surface and many of the fabulously coloured buildings of Cork made speedy appearances linked to Simon’s favourite 1970’s disability vehicle.

The building became a broken cuckoo clock which misbehaved before becoming a virtual 1660 map, accompanied by a score from the brilliant blind Irish composer Turlough O'Carolan.

Simon, who is himself disabled, having been born with Osteogenesis Imperfecta, a condition causing extremely fragile bones, creates work that draws on his own personal experiences and challenges people’s perceptions of disability. His Motion Disabled Unlimited project - a stunning digital installation that used animation to show how disabled athletes move - was shown all over the world and was an integral part of the London 2012 Festival and Cultural Olympiad.

Mary McCarthy, Director of the National Sculpture Factory, said: 'Cork Ignite was transformational and presented the public with a dazzling complex sequence of visuals and soundscapes. Technically brilliant and aesthetically complex, this work demonstrated Simon’s extraordinarily understanding of technology, collaboration and engagement.'

Ailbhe Murphy, Director of Create, Ireland’s national development agency for collaborative arts, added: 'Create was thrilled and delighted to be part of the team with the Cork Ignite partners. The outdoor spectacle, with such a large audience, pushed the envelope in terms of public engagement and challenged stereotypes about disability arts.'

Cork Ignite was led by the National Sculpture Factory and Create Ireland in association with SoundOUT and Suisha Inclusive Arts at COPE Foundation. Cork Ignite was commissioned by Cork City Council with partners, The Arts Council and Arts & Disability Ireland.

Ignite is a platform designed to generate Ireland’s most ambitious showcasing of talent from people with disabilities, led by international and Irish artists and performers with disabilities. Ignite is a partnership involving the Arts Council, Arts & Disability Ireland, Cork City Council, Galway City and County Councils, and Mayo County Council.

Simon added: 'My aim was to create, in collaboration with different groups, a hugely exciting body of work in Cork and for this work to be seen as a fundamental stepping stone in the perception and production of art which touches on, or considers disability. Cork Ignite has wowed a hugely diverse audience and in doing so achieved that aim and for me that's success.'

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Watch some of Simon's Cork Ignite