Between Chaos and Light: New Fountains Abbey installation exploring stories of historic hall
In the threads that blur between past and present, a little magic can find its way through to share an echo of history.
A new installation, Between Chaos and Light, opens at Fountains Hall this summer solstice, in an incredible hidden room unseen in public for decades.
It builds a bridge through history to the sound of song from so long ago, with rich binds that ripple and shimmer.
There is a monumental sculpture, with birds in flight and shifting clouds and melodies from a Jacobean era.
Artist Ed Kluz, at the National Trust’s Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal, explores a "pivotal" moment in British history, following the dissolution of the monasteries.
This was a time bookmarked by upheaval and enlightenment, he said, which forms the core for this new installation.
"Fountains Hall straddles this really interesting age in history, from the end of the Tudor time to the beginning of the Stuart age," he said.
"This was a really tumultuous time with so many different power struggles, it almost feels as if the old and the new are separated."
In 1597, a man by the name of Stephen Proctor bought the Fountains Abbey estate and began to build Fountains Hall as his country home, using stone from its ruined abbey.
Known to be ruthless and ambitious, Proctor held court in its first floor great chamber. Now this space, unseen for decades, is opened to the public once more.
The sculpture takes its shape from the relief of a woman's face in the main entrance hall. Then there is spoken words, a fusion of words from two writers of the time; Robert Fludd, a mystic and philosopher who spoke of the divine between chaos and light - hence the name - and writer Elizabeth Grimston who penned a handbook for her infant son as she lay dying.
Elemental imagery features scenes from a mountain stream and a sunset, or moons and birds in flight, to music from period musicians and sounds from the 16th century.
It was quite common in the grand halls of the time to put on plays, said Mr Kluz, although it isn't known if that happened here with Stephen Proctor's sentiment.
Now, this installation sets the stage, offering up a "renaissance jewel" of the age.
"I would like people to feel as if they have connected with the words of 400 years ago and found some calm and peace and reassurance," added Mr Kluz.
"To feel transported, somehow."
General Manager Justin Scully, said: "Visitors come day by day and they see a ruined Abbey, we are missing out on those 400 years of history. Ed's work picks up on these moments in time."
"What we are doing is revealing a different space, that people haven't seen before, and a whole period of history. It bridges that gap."
Between Chaos and Light runs until the Winter Solstice on December 21.