Ancient Futures at Selby Abbey, 6 – 8 March 2025
Ancient Futures is a large-scale video, light and sound installation developed in response to Selby Abbey and the local limestone from which the church is built. Founded in 1069, the Abbey originates from an otherworldly vision received by St Germain to build a monastery in “Selebiae”, where three swans meet on a river bend.
Inspired by this visionary tale and the region’s geology, Ancient Futures imagines a force of nature embodied in the form of a piece of magnesian limestone sourced from the petrified shores of the Zechstein Sea. This sea formed over 270 million years ago as the continents split, its western edges creating the limestone ridge that bounds the Vale of York.
This geological ‘visionary’ journeys to Selby Abbey to survey, reveal and ultimately reclaim the stone for an ancient future.
Drawing on research and conversations with local residents and the Selby Abbey community, Ancient Futures explores the abbey and aspects of its human history from the perspective of deep time whilst also considering a scenario for a distant future. It combines Lidar scans of Selby Abbey, photogrammetry, infra-red film footage and sound recordings from around the area with archival imagery of the church.
Credits:
- Commissioned by Now Then! Supported by Arts Council England and North Yorkshire Council.
- Archival Imagery: Selby Abbey
- Lidar scan: Red Laser Scanning
- AV technical support for the event: HPSS
The artists would like to thank the following people and organisations for their support with this project:
- Hazel Colquhoun, curator and the Now Then! team and Mediale.
- The Selby Abbey team, community and the Heritage Group.
- Oliver Waterer, Director of Music at Selby Abbey, the Choir of Selby Abbey and organist Ian Seddon for allowing us to record and use samples from their performances.
- Roger Riley and the team of Selby Abbey Bell Ringers for allowing us to record and use samples from their bell ringing practice.
- Selby College staff and students.
- North Yorkshire Libraries Service and staff and visitors at Selby Library.
- The Woodland Trust for permitting the artists to use footage filmed at Nidd Gorge, Harrogate.
