Tony Wade - Andromeda

I was commissioned by Artist Tony Wade to document his performance piece "Andromeda's Return" for his exhibition at The Art House, held from 8th July - 16th September 2023.

2 films were displayed in the exhibition allowing visitors to experience the magic of the performance and the beauty of the continually changing location.

Here are some words from Tony's website about the project:

"In the town of Knottingley there was a glass factory called Bagley’s Glass. In the 1930’s they made a popular figurine called Andromeda. It was so popular that the factory workers would pinch the figurine to take home. To stop them the factory would occasionally hire the local police to search the workers as they crossed the bridge over the canal between the factory and town. To avoid being arrested the workers would throw the figurines into the canal, to possibly retrieve them later.

The local myth claims that the canal at Knottingley is lined with these figurines.

I found an original Andromeda figurine on eBay so in September 2019 I set off to walk alongside the canal as it made its way from Knottingley to the port of Goole (the eventual destination for the original figures on their way to the rest of the world).

It is 28km from Knottingley to Goole. I tied the figurine onto a length of rope and every kilometer I threw the figurine into the canal, photographing the splash as the figurine hit the surface of the canal. The walk from Knottingley to Goole generated 28 photographs of splashes. Because the canal is a long linear structure I could line the photographs up and overlay a musical stave, so that each splash became a note. In doing so I generated a 28 note tune.

In June 2023 I hired a barge and musicians, and played the 28-note sequence, in reverse order, as we made the return journey from Goole to Knottingley."