Colourscape

Colourscape is a large walk-in sculpture of pure colour. Nearly 100 highly-coloured chambers are linked by elliptical openings to form a breathtaking labyrinth of colour, light and space illuminated by natural daylight.

The public pass through an entrance chamber into a new world of radiant colour. They wear cloaks of primary colours that change in hue as they move through the intensely coloured chambers. The visitor walks freely, choosing from many routes through Colourscape, experiencing ever expanding views of radiating colours. Many visitors are moved to express their experience in poetic terms:……“Like being wrapped in a rainbow.”…..“I felt I could almost breathe the colours.”

Designed and built by artists living in Wales, led by Peter Jones and Lynne Dickens, Colourscape structures have been shown as walk-in sculptural installations at arts festivals and events throughout the world. From 1989 Nettlefold Festival Trust began a collaboration with Colourscape to create a unique festival combining the worlds of visual arts, music and theatre.

The power and influence of Colourscape on the festival cannot be over-emphasised. Its very nature creates an environment conducive to the appreciation of contemporary music and theatrical performance. Unlike a conventional concert setting, the audience are not restricted to sitting facing the performers. The public can wander through Colourscape absorbing the visual splendours while listening to the music through many hidden loudspeakers. Some of the public sit or lie down with their eyes closed listening to the music, and some within the performance area watch the performers and listen in a more conventional manner. Colourscape can become scenery (as in the 1994 production of “The Snow Queen”), or a more conventional, but still very special, concert setting. Its most active role occurs when musicians and theatrical performers lead the audience on a journey of colour, space and time using the many routes through the labyrinth.

The new structure (built with funds provided by the Foundation for Sport and the Arts and the National Lottery and completed in 1995) is the largest of its kind in the world with nearly 100 interlinked chambers. At the centre of the labyrinth-like structure is a performance space where slender columns rise to a high vaulted ceiling. Here larger scale performances can be staged. An integrated sound system, front-of-house canopy and artists’ area complete this unique environment.