AN EERIE video installation aimed at generating interest about Chester’s proposed new theatre is gripping shoppers and tourists.
The ghostly image of artist Nayan Kulkarni can be seen applying silver theatrical make-up on a screen high up in a window above the entrance to the former Odeon cinema.
Through lower windows, the public can see rotating lights which switch on for a few seconds at a time.
Cheshire West and Chester Council has commissioned Nayan, whose previous projection of stars could be seen on the exterior of the Odeon over Christmas.
The idea of the installation, which runs until March 23, is to generate interest around the council’s plans for a £43m theatre at the site, which is due to open in 2014 or 2015.
Nayan, who has worked across the UK on a diverse range of arts projects, said: “It plays on the idea of masking yourself to become something else.”
Nayan said the image also has echoes of Rapunzel trapped in a tower. The rotating lights below are reminiscent of a lighthouse and also intended to lighten the mood.
He added: “It’s all about starting to get people talking about the building again.”
Nayan was previously commissioned by the council and Chester Renaissance to permanently transform the eastern ruins of St John the Baptist church using computer-controlled lighting projections.
