Some pigeons are warmer than others & We are a satellite
James Hankey
Goonhilly Village Green, 2019
Photos: Artur Tixiliski
Goonhilly Village Green was an experimental project led by artists Sara Bowler and Elizabeth Masterton and produced by Field Notes. In 2019, 5 artists were commissioned to produce new art works and a programme of talks and workshops took place in locations on the Lizard and in nearby towns. The project culminated in The Gathering, a village fête style event on Goonhilly Downs, where artworks and information were shared and a range of activities invited people to engage in their own multi-layered exploration of this special place.
James Hankey was one of the artists commissioned as part of Goonhilly Village Green 2019. He worked with Goonhilly Earth Station (GES) and Goonhilly Heritage Society (GHS) to explore the history and future of the technologies used on site. With such rich variety of information to draw inspiration from his work has developed in various directions:
Some pigeons are warmer than others, James Hankey, 2019 Installation comprising of a looped HD video of a rotating pigeon, tripod holding waveguide, large parabolic mirror, laser cut text on colour photographic paper reading 'never look down a waveguide'
Some pigeons are warmer than others came out of a conversation with members of GHS about how pigeons have ‘found a home’ at the neck of the GHY 6 antenna, perhaps because of the warmth induced by the transmitted microwaves. It was exhibited as part of an installation in the Happidrome, the shell of a building that was built as part of a WWII radar station on Goonhilly Downs. You can view the video here.
We are a satellite, moving image, James Hankey, 2019
3:00 16mm looped projection of a 360 degree circumnavigation of GHY 1 (or GHY 6)
With the visual and historic presence of the large parabolic satellite antennas dominating any investigation into Goonhilly, one of James' responses to the site involved performing a solitary, 22 hour orbit of GHY-1 with a mechanical 16mm cine camera. GHY-1 also known as Arthur was the first antenna installed at the site, it was responsible for receiving and transmitting the first images of the Apollo 11 moon landing in 1969 and is now a listed monument. We are a satellite was installed in a former radar station building, originally used as part of the Home Chain network during WWII and now stripped back to the bare bones of the structure. The three minute 16mm film was shown as a back-projected looped HD video, which you can view here.
Some pigeons are warmer than others, James Hankey, 2019 Installation comprising of a looped HD video of a rotating pigeon, tripod holding waveguide, large parabolic mirror, laser cut text on colour photographic paper reading 'never look down a waveguide'
Some pigeons are warmer than others came out of a conversation with members of GHS about how pigeons have ‘found a home’ at the neck of the GHY 6 antenna, perhaps because of the warmth induced by the transmitted microwaves. It was exhibited as part of an installation in the Happidrome, the shell of a building that was built as part of a WWII radar station on Goonhilly Downs. You can view the video here.
We are a satellite, moving image, James Hankey, 2019
3:00 16mm looped projection of a 360 degree circumnavigation of GHY 1 (or GHY 6)
With the visual and historic presence of the large parabolic satellite antennas dominating any investigation into Goonhilly, one of James' responses to the site involved performing a solitary, 22 hour orbit of GHY-1 with a mechanical 16mm cine camera. GHY-1 also known as Arthur was the first antenna installed at the site, it was responsible for receiving and transmitting the first images of the Apollo 11 moon landing in 1969 and is now a listed monument. We are a satellite was installed in a former radar station building, originally used as part of the Home Chain network during WWII and now stripped back to the bare bones of the structure. The three minute 16mm film was shown as a back-projected looped HD video, which you can view here.
FUNDERS AND PARTNERS
Goonhilly Village Green was an artist led project initiated by Sara Bowler and Elizabeth Masterton, it was supported by funds from Arts Council England, Heritage Lottery Fund, FEAST, Ernest Cook Trust Enviroment & Sustainability Institute at the University of Exeter and the Elmgrant Trust, and in partnership with Natural England, GES Ltd., The Museum of Cornish Life, Trelowarren Estate, Lizard Outreach Trust and Goonhilly Heritage Society.
GET IN TOUCH:
info@fieldnotes.org.ukThe development of this website was supported by Cultivator Cornwall
