Pier to pier art installation explores living on the edge
A fascinating new moving artwork/sound installation – which will physically travel between Brighton Pier and Worthing Pier for the Brighton Festival – asks what it is like to live on the edge.
It also asks: What keeps us balanced in turbulent times? And what do we feel when we look to the horizon?
Pier to Pier comes from theatre company RAPT and runs from May 10-June 6. You can find out its route and its precise locations from the website www. pier-to-pier.com.
RAPTisaSussexbasedtheatre company which collaborates with artists, researchers and community groups in order to examine difficult questions. The Pier to Pier project grew naturally out of the work that it does, as Emma Higham explains.
“We started this project by looking at tipping points, by looking at being on the edge. We are an island. We are living on the coast – on the edge. But what does it mean to be on the edge in the moment, in society?
“There are 14 miles and we interviewed 14 people that lived and worked on this stretch of the coast. We found them through a mixture of different avenues, and we just wanted as diverse a coastal community as possible. We were wanting people whose livelihood depends on this stretch of the coast.”
Among the interviewees were a sea swimmer, a whalestranding expert, someone who left, someone who stayed, a nurse, a coastguard, a fisherman, a mother, a child and a scientist.
“We asked them a set amount of questions like ‘Have you ever felt on the edge?’ seeing what their definition of edge was.
“We asked them what they see or feel when they look at the horizon.”
The interviews were recorded and you will be able to access them by pushing a button on the project’s orange bench which will travel from Brighton to Worthing.
They will be at various locationsontheseafrontbetween Brighton Pier and Worthing Pier.