Fleeting

Ever witnessed a murmuration of starlings over the West Pier? Shape-shifting without borders or boundaries as thousands of chattering individuals move as one? Like the precarious pier that’s gradually being reclaimed by the sea, it’s a magnificent expression of the impermanence of our world.

Fleeting is a punctuated installation on the beach created by And Now: artists who specialise in creating unexpected visual experiences inspired by the natural world. Their recent works have taken place at Wakehurst Place, Wilderness Festival, the Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew and also in two Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty in the Wye Valley River Festival and Inside Out, Dorset. Lead artist Mandy Dike, in collaboration with Ben Rigby and the whole creative team, uses fire to connect with people, drawing on its universal cultural presence, symbolic strength and power to focus and inspire.

As daylight fades, hundreds of individual points of fire create shapes and swathes of glowing light and shade. Move closer; is that the sound of erosion, of rusting perhaps? Or maybe this is what progression sounds like? Is it the sound of birds in flight, or of time passing? Is it the sound of the shifting, ever-changing population? Maybe you can hear memories of migration.

Evoking a sense of awe, wonder and calm contemplation, Fleeting is at once a tribute to the West Pier, the people of Brighton and Hove and the transforming power of nature – a fitting finale to Brighton Festival 2015.

Working with And Now: Mandy Dike and Ben Rigby to realise Fleeting are:

Music composition: Stu Barker.
Soundscape: Thor Mcintyre-Burnie.
Voice collection: Tom Bailey
Performance: Flick Ferdinando
Assistant Performance: Siou Hannam, Avis Cockbill
Crew: Tom Bailey, Pete Mountain, Gavin Lewery, Mat Nichols, Chris Hoxey, Brian Thunder, Paul Harrington, Jon Bielstein

Volunteer co-ordinator: Natasha Padbury
Production for Brighton Festival: Polly Barker
Technical development: Mike Pattison

A very big thank-you to the volunteer participants.

Sound and Light equipment: H2

Ways to get involved:

Would you like to dance?

Volunteer PerformersWe are looking for a large number of volunteers ideally with some dance, movement or performance experience. You must be 16yrs or over and able to attend the following rehearsal sessions:

- Half a day workshop in early May. Date and location to be confirmed- Saturday 23rd May afternoon into late evening rehearsal onsite

- Sunday 24th May afternoon into late evening rehearsal and performance onsite

Your performance will include moving on shingle so you need to be physically fit and happy to perform outdoors in any weather.

If you are interested please email your name, contact details and details of any previous experience to our Fleeting Coordinator on: [javascript protected email address]

Or have you just got 20mins to share your stories with us?

SoundscapeCollected and collated textural sounds, including people’s voices, will be mixed and combined with specially composed music to create the soundscape for Fleeting. We would like you to come and record your stories, memories, thoughts and ideas relating to the themes of:

- Flocking and murmurations
- Migration
- Shifting boundaries
- The evolving population of Brighton & Hove
- The West Pier

Pop in to see us at the Cafe-bar on Mon 30 Mar, 11am-1pm and Tue 31 Mar, 3pm-5pm.